U.S. Ambassador to Russia expects further dialogue on civil society issues

VOLGOGRAD. Feb 1 (Interfax) – Discussion of civil society issues will continue in spite of the U.S. dropout from the relevant bilateral working group, U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul said at the Russian-U.S. Center in Volgograd on Friday.

McFaul said the working group was formed in June 2009 and he co-chaired it with Vladislav Surkov. He noted they had met many times and the meetings were efficient. The conversations were difficult sometimes, but the contacts were good just the same, he said.

The latest meeting took place in May 2011, during a visit of Surkov, McFaul said. He said he did not know why that happened (the meetings stopped) but still expected to discuss the subject with colleagues.

Meetings of Russian government representatives with civil society continue in both countries; the (working group) format has failed but the theme remains, McFaul said.