A Russian delegation arrived at the U.S. consul general's residence in Istanbul on Thursday for talks with American officials to address diplomatic disputes over their embassies in Washington and Moscow.
While the scope of the talks was narrow and did not reportedly include Ukraine, they provided a test of both sides' seriousness about repairing their relations and working to end the war.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the talks in Istanbul followed an understanding reached during President Donald Trump's call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Feb. 12 and a high-level diplomatic meeting in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 18.
Last week's U.S.-Russian talks in Riyadh marked an extraordinary shift in Washington's foreign policy under Trump and a clear departure from U.S.-led efforts to isolate Russia over its war in Ukraine.
In Riyadh, Moscow and Washington agreed to start working toward ending the war and improving their diplomatic and economic ties. That includes restoring staffing at embassies, which in recent years were hit hard by mutual expulsions of large numbers of diplomats, closures of offices, and other restrictions.
A U.S. Embassy official in Ankara confirmed that Thursday's talks in Istanbul would deal with issues affecting the operation of respective diplomatic missions.
Valentina Matvienko, the speaker of the Russian parliament's upper house, said Thursday during a visit to Turkey that U.S.-Russia talks should help restore the "full-fledged work of our diplomatic missions."
"I'm sure that the agreements will be reached and we will return to civilized communication, which was disrupted by the previous administration," she said in Ankara, according to Russian news agencies.
Prior to Trump's second administration, ties between Moscow and Washington plummeted to their lowest levels since the Cold War after Russia illegally annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and invaded Ukraine in 2022.
No Ukrainian officials were present at last week's talks. The Kremlin insisted that the meeting was about restoring relations and dialogue with the United States, something it said would pave the way for eventual peace talks.
Speaking to journalists during a visit to Qatar, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted that Thursday's talks in Istanbul would focus on "the systemic problems that have accumulated as a result of the unlawful activities of the previous (U.S.) administration to create artificial obstacles for the work of the Russian embassy, to which we, naturally, reciprocated and also created uncomfortable conditions for the work of the American embassy in Moscow."
Lavrov added that based on the outcome of the meeting, "it will be clear how quickly and effectively we can move forward."
In office for just over five weeks, Trump has overturned the policy of his predecessor Joe Biden, who sought to isolate and punish Russia for waging war against Ukraine.
Ukraine and its European allies, meanwhile, are worried that Trump's push to end the conflict swiftly could lead to a deal with Moscow that sidelines them and undermines their security.
The U.S. State Department said Thursday's talks, which working-level officials will lead, will not include any discussions on Ukraine or political or security issues, but will still be seen as a test of Moscow's intent.
"To be clear, there are no political or security issues on the agenda. Ukraine is not on the agenda," a State Department spokesperson said.
"The constructiveness of these talks will become apparent very quickly; either issues will get resolved or they won’t. We will know soon if Russia is really willing to engage in good faith," they added.
Trump has said he wants to move quickly toward a cease-fire in Ukraine but Putin this week tempered expectations of rapid progress, saying nothing could be achieved without restoring trust between Russia and the United States.
