This is the second time this month that Russian and US diplomats have had a direct meeting.
RT reported that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed the closed-door meeting in Istanbul but did not disclose the specific members of the Moscow negotiating delegation. He said that Russian diplomats and senior experts will meet on the US side to discuss " systematic issues" in bilateral relations.
Mr. Lavrov emphasized that the negotiations aim to resolve the obstacles that the US administration has previously created to the operation of the Russian Embassy, causing Moscow to respond accordingly. He also expressed hope that the negotiations would show how quickly and effectively the two sides can progress.
On February 27, a number of Russian media outlets posted a short video recording the image of a Mercedes minibus with dark glass doors and diplomatic license plates entering a strict security area in Istanbul. According to TASS, the location of the negotiations was the headquarters of the US Consulate General in Istanbul.
The meeting in Istanbul took place right after senior Russian and US diplomatic officials held talks in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This is the first direct dialogue between the two countries since the Ukraine conflict escalated three years ago.
The main content of the negotiations focused on restoring economic-diplomatic relations and finding solutions to the Ukrainian conflict. The two sides also agreed on the principle of restoring personnel at the Embassy after many years of cuts due to geopolitical tensions, although no specific steps have been announced.
In recent years, Istanbul has played an important role as a neutral venue for negotiations related to the Ukrainian conflict.
Notably, in 2022, Russia and Ukraine held direct meetings here, and according to Russian officials, the peace process at that time had made certain progress.
However, Russia accused British Prime Minister Boris Johnson of pressuring Ukraine to continue fighting rather than pursuing a negotiated path - something Johnson denied.
This meeting in Istanbul could mark a turning point in Russia-US relations, but the effectiveness of the negotiations is still a question mark.
