US - Russian diplomats to meet in Washington

"We're pleased to have the meeting on the books," Ms. Heather Nauert told reporters.

She added that the meeting will take place on July 17th.

The meeting between Undersecretary of State Thomas Shannon and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov follows the cancellation of a session scheduled last month in St. Petersburg. Russia shelved the meeting after the Trump administration announced an expansion of sanctions in response to the ongoing Ukraine crisis, according to the Washington Post.

The dialogue had been set up to address irritants between the two countries and to try to restore enough trust so that bigger issues like Syria and Ukraine could eventually be addressed./.