Russian and U.S. Delegations Discuss Embassy Reopenings in Istanbul

Russian and American delegations held a new round of talks in Istanbul about the exchange of opening embassies. The meeting between the two delegations, which took place on Thursday at the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul, lasted for more than six hours and ended without any statements or remarks about the discussions. The U.S. delegation was led by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Sonata Coulter, while the Russian delegation was headed by Alexander Darchiev, Director of the North America Department at the Russian Foreign Ministry. The Istanbul meeting did not address issues related to the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova stated in a press briefing before the meeting that the goal of the talks in Turkey was to reduce tensions in relations, and that they expected the meeting to be the first in a series of expert consultations aimed at overcoming the differences with the U.S. and strengthening confidence-building measures.

The U.S. State Department, on the eve of the meeting, stated that the Istanbul talks would cover matters such as staff numbers at the embassies, visas, and banking services for diplomats, adding: “Let’s be clear, there are no political or security issues on the agenda… Ukraine is not on the agenda.”

It continued: “It will quickly become clear how constructive these talks are. Either the issues will be resolved, or they won’t, and we’ll soon know if Russia is genuinely ready to engage in good faith.”

On the eve of the meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said: “Our diplomats will discuss with the U.S. side the systemic issues that have accumulated during the previous U.S. administration, and these issues are related to factors that hinder the operation of the embassies.”