U.S.-Russia talks in Istanbul were ‘constructive,’ says State Department
The U.S. State Department has released a statement on the Russian-American meeting held in Istanbul on February 27.
The talks, which reportedly focused on the operations of diplomatic missions, lasted several hours. According to the State Department, the discussions were “constructive,” and “both sides identified concrete initial steps to stabilize bilateral mission operations.”
The U.S. delegation “raised concerns regarding access to banking and contracted services as well as the need to ensure stable and sustainable staffing levels at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow,” the statement said.
The statement also revealed that the U.S. delegation was led by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Sonata Coulter, while the Russian delegation was headed by Aleksandr Darchiyev, head of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s North American Department. Previously, no details about the composition of the delegations had been disclosed.
The two sides agreed to meet again soon, with the date and location to be determined later.
This was the second round of diplomatic talks between Russia and the United States in recent weeks. On February 18, officials from both countries met in Riyadh for the first time since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine.
