US and Russian delegations in Istanbul held constructive discussion, agreed on another meeting - State Department
On February 27, representatives of the United States and the Russian Federation met in Istanbul, Turkey. They agreed to hold the next meeting in the near future. The date and place have not yet been determined.
According to Censor.NET, this was reported by the US State Department.
The US delegation in Istanbul was headed by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Russian and Central European Affairs Sonata Coulter, and the Russian delegation was headed by Director of the North Atlantic Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Ambassador Alexander Darchiev.
"The United States expressed concerns about access to banking and contracting services, as well as the need to ensure a stable and sustainable level of staffing at the US Embassy in Moscow," the statement said.
According to the State Department, the meeting in Istanbul was held in continuation of contacts between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
"During constructive discussions, both sides identified concrete initial steps to stabilize bilateral missions," the US State Department said in a statement.
What is known about the talks between the US and Russia
On February 18, the first meeting of the Russian and American delegations took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. According to Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, the talks went "well," and the two sides agreed to take into account each other's interests, particularly in the development of bilateral relations between Washington and Moscow.
Bloomberg later reported that the United States and Russia were against the presence of Ukrainian representatives at the talks in Saudi Arabia.
US President Donald Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, will represent Washington in talks with Russia to end the war in Ukraine.
The White House called the talks with Russian representatives in Saudi Arabia a "monumental step toward peace."
Later, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin said that Russia was ready to return to the negotiating table on the war in Ukraine. Moscow has "never refused to engage in dialogue".
