Russian and US diplomats to meet in Istanbul on Thursday

The meeting, according to the Russian Foreign Minister, will be to address "systemic problems that have accumulated as a result of the illegitimate activities of the previous US administration."

Russian and US diplomats will meet again on Thursday in Istanbul after initial discussions on February 18 in Saudi Arabia, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced on Wednesday.

“The meeting will take place tomorrow [Thursday] in Istanbul,” Lavrov added, quoted by the French agency AFP and Russian agency TASS .

“We announced that our diplomats and experts will meet to address the systemic problems that have accumulated as a result of the illegitimate activities of the previous [US] administration aimed at creating artificial obstacles to the work of the Russian embassy, ​​to which we clearly responded in kind, also creating uncomfortable conditions for the functioning of the US embassy in Moscow,” Lavrov said at a press conference in Qatar.

Now, the Russian minister hopes that this meeting “will make it clear to what extent the parties are capable of moving forward quickly and effectively.”

NATO member Turkey wants to play a leading role in ending hostilities in Ukraine, as it tried to do in March 2022 by twice hosting direct talks between Moscow and Kiev, but without success.

Russia and the United States have resumed talks following a telephone conversation between their respective leaders, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, after nearly three years without high-level contacts due to the war in Ukraine.

In the aftermath of the Riyadh meeting, Russians and Americans said they wanted to revive bilateral relations, raising fears that Kiev and its European allies would be sidelined in resolving the conflict in Ukraine.

After the discussion, Sergei Lavrov and his US counterpart Marco Rubio said they wanted to restore the normal functioning of diplomatic missions, following the multiple expulsions of representatives from their respective embassies since 2022.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Sunday that he was “expecting real progress” at a meeting that will be held “at the level of the heads of departments” of the foreign ministries of both countries.

The United States and Western allies have supported Ukraine since it was invaded by Russia on February 24, 2022, with weapons and financial aid, and by imposing sanctions on Moscow.

Since Republican Donald Trump succeeded Democrat Joe Biden as US President on January 20, fears have grown that Washington will reduce its support for Kiev.

Trump intends to exchange this support for US access to Ukrainian minerals, and President Volodymyr Zelensky has been quoted as saying he will travel to Washington in the coming days to sign an agreement on the issue.