and here's the reponse.
"The Kremlin says it is "disappointed" the US cancelled bilateral talks in September, after Russia granted asylum to intelligence leaker Edward Snowden.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's foreign affairs adviser said the move showed the US could not develop ties with Russia on an "equal basis"."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/23608052
There it is. They see the pulpit. But the US doesn't see the pulpit it seems determined to stand on. And so it doesn't understand why it is rebuffed.