Istanbul: On Thursday, February 27, U.S. and Russian diplomats met in Istanbul to discuss ways to improve relations between the two countries.
The meeting comes amid ongoing tensions that have persisted for the past three years due to the war in Ukraine, during which both nations have expelled each other’s diplomats multiple times.
According to Russia’s state news agency TASS, the discussions lasted six hours and focused on resolving existing concerns regarding the operations of both countries' embassies. Prior to the meeting, a U.S. official stated that Sonata Coulter, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, led the American delegation. On the Russian side, Alexander Darchiev, head of the North Atlantic Department at the Russian Foreign Ministry, served as the chief negotiator. Several other officials from both nations’ foreign ministries and embassies were also present.
This diplomatic engagement follows a recent phone call between the presidents of the United States and Russia earlier this month. Additionally, last week in Riyadh, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met in an effort to rebuild ties, with their discussions primarily focusing on ending the war in Ukraine.
Following the Riyadh meeting on February 18, Rubio stated that both sides had agreed to improve relations and work toward a resolution to the Ukraine conflict. He told the Associated Press that their discussions revolved around three key points: reinstating diplomats in both Washington and Moscow, sending high-level delegations to support peace talks on Ukraine, and evaluating economic cooperation and closer ties.
Yuri Ushakov, a key foreign policy advisor to Russian President Vladimir Putin who was part of the Moscow delegation, confirmed that substantial discussions took place. He emphasized that both sides had agreed to keep designated negotiating teams in contact for further discussions.
