'Russia-US ties stagnated in 2013'

Relations between Russia and the US did not make progress in 2013, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey A. Ryabkov said Wednesday.

"We lack a desirable advance. In effect, there's no advance at all," Xinhua quoted Ryabkov as telling the Voice of Russia radio.

The NATO anti-missile defence issue, the furore surrounding former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, Russian diplomats accused over fraud scandals in the US and sanctions imposed on some Russian citizens - all affected the bilateral relationship, Ryabkov said.

Despite some progress over Syria and Iran, the overall balance in the Russia-US relations had not been positive, the official said, describing their ties as stagnant.

Moscow had tried not to aggravate the conflicts and had demonstrated a "balanced reaction", he said.

Ryabkov also lamented that US politicians kept stereotyping Russia, with the White House remaining deaf to Russian interests and the Russian approach to human rights issues.