According to Boris Gryzlov, the Speaker of the Russian State Duma and the Chairman of the Supreme Council of the United Russia party, Russia needs to create social and economic mechanisms that would allow it to develop steadily in the future.

During a visit to the United States, on July 12, 2011, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov came to the Washington, D.C. studio of the Voice of Russia radio station that opened in May 2011 and gave an interview covering a range of issues in Russian-American and international relations.

Officials at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed surprise over the U.S. Senate’s resolution where the republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia were described as Russian-occupied territories.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that there are signs the six-nation talks on the subject of the North Korean nuclear program may be revived in the near future. The talks involve the countries of North Korea, South Korea, the U.S., Russia, China, and Japan.

The European Union and Russia expect to enter into an agreement on easing the visa regime before the end of the year. According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov, Russia has reached an agreement with the European Union on simplifying the visa regime.