US President Donald Trump has sought to reset relations with Moscow since coming to office last month [Alexander Nemenov/AFP via Getty]
Russian and US officials met in Istanbul on Thursday for talks on resolving embassy issues as the two countries aimed to restore ties, Russian news agencies reported.
The talks, being held at the US consul general’s residence, come after this month’s first high-level meeting between the two nuclear powers since the start of Russia’s Ukraine offensive.
Neither has said who would participate, but Russia’s state TASS agency said the Russian delegation included “foreign ministry representatives”.
US President Donald Trump has sought to reset relations with Moscow since coming to office last month, reaching out to Russian leader Vladimir Putin and initiating high-level talks with Kremlin officials for the first time in over three years.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters restoring ruptured ties with the United States was a “process”.
“No one expects decisions to be easy and quick. But with the political will of the two countries, with the willingness to listen and hear each other, we will be able to get through this working process,” he said Thursday.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met on February 18 in the Saudi capital Riyadh, where they agreed to kickstart talks on the Ukraine conflict, without involving Kyiv.
The United States sided with Russia twice Monday in votes at the United Nations, seeking to avoid condemnation of Moscow’s offensive against its neighbour launched three years ago.
The talks in Istanbul are aimed at normalising the work of their diplomatic missions, after each expelled embassy staff from the other during former US president Joe Biden’s administration.
NATO member Turkey has sought to play a role in negotiations to end hostilities in Ukraine, twice hosting direct negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv in March 2022.
