Istanbul (TDI): The US and Russian delegations have met in Istanbul for a second round of talks regarding the resumption of diplomatic ties and stationing diplomatic missions in each other’s country.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, the Russian delegation was led by Russia’s new Ambassador to the US, Alexander Darchiev, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Sonata Coulter.
It is important to note that the diplomatic relations between Russia and the United States had remained severed for the past several decades. Due to tense ties, both sides closed down the embassies and consulates of the other country.
Prior to the talks, the White House and kremlin stated that the talks would focus on restoration of diplomatic ties and unfreezing of diplomatic property.
🇷🇺🇺🇸 Russian delegation, helmed by Ambassador to the US Alexander #Darchiev arrives at the @rusya_istanbul — venue for the consultations with the US delegation, headed by Sonata #Coulter, DAS of State for Russia & Central Europe, which will be begin shortly.
📍 Istanbul, Türkiye pic.twitter.com/6lbbp5vt1h
— MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) April 10, 2025
The United States had put six Russian properties under restriction including the Russian consulates in San Francisco and Seattle, the Pioneer Point “dacha” in Maryland, Killenworth estate on Long Island, and Russian trade missions in New York and Washington.
Revival of operations on these properties was among Russia’s agenda for talks with the US.
It was also agreed upon that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the broader political and security situation must not surface during the talks.
Tammy Bruce, the Spokesperson for the US Department of State clarified on Tuesday, “Ukraine is not, absolutely not on the agenda.”
She further stated, “These talks are solely focused on our embassy operations, not on normalizing a bilateral relationship overall, which can only happen, as we’ve noted, once there is peace between Russia and Ukraine.”
Read More: Russia-US Contact Likely Next Week: Russian Envoy
The decision to revive diplomatic talks came after the US team led by Marco Rubio had met the Russian delegation headed by Sergey Lavrov in Saudi Arabia on February 18.
In addition to discussing the Ukraine ceasefire plan, they also seriously considered the revival of diplomatic relations between the United States and Russia.
The US President, Donald Trump, since assuming office for the second non-consecutive term, has pushed for resetting relations with Russia and to find a permanent solution to end the war in Ukraine.
Javaria Khalid is a Web Contributor at The Diplomatic Insight Magazine. She specializes in covering geopolitical developments, international relations, diplomatic, and socio-economic developments in Europe and Pakistan.
