MOSCOW. Dec 1 (Interfax) - U.S. Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman has cancelled his planned visits to the Far East because officials in the region were unable to meet with him.
"Given [...] that local officials - including the governors of Primorskiy Krai and Sakhalin, and the mayor of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk - were uniformly unable to find time to meet with Ambassador Huntsman, the visit has regretfully been canceled," the U.S. Embassy to Russia said in a statement on its website.
"The response by local officials also means we have to cancel our request for Ambassador Huntsman to engage during the visit with the Pacific Fleet Commander on security issues of mutual interest in the Pacific region," the statement said.
Huntsman expected to continue the practice of his visits for a constructive dialogue in Vladivostok and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk next week following his successful "November visits to Yekaterinburg and St. Petersburg," the diplomatic mission said.
"This is particularly disappointing in light of the open, productive meetings that Ambassador Huntsman has had with [Russian Foreign] Minister [Sergei] Lavrov, [Defense] Minister [Sergei] Shoigu, and other cabinet ministers, governors, and other officials in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Yekaterinburg," the U.S. embassy said.
"It goes without saying that the path to improving U.S.-Russian relations begins with a willingness to engage in a frank and open dialogue," the embassy said.
"Ambassador Huntsman is committed to establishing that dialogue whenever the Russian side is willing to come to the table," it said.