New Round of Diplomatic Talks Scheduled to Restore U.S.-Russia Embassy Operations in Istanbul

The second round of discussions between the U.S. and Russia regarding the restoration of diplomatic missions is scheduled to occur on Thursday in Istanbul, as announced by the Kremlin on Tuesday.

«The Foreign Ministry will represent our side, so please await their official statement,» Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov informed the media.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has acknowledged the upcoming meeting, which will be the second phase of talks aimed at reinstating embassy activities in both nations, according to the state-run TASS news agency.

Leading their respective delegations will be Russia’s newly appointed ambassador to the United States, Alexander Darchiyev, and U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Russia and Central Europe, Sonata Coulter.

Darchiyev and Coulter last convened in Istanbul on February 27 to address the normalization of their diplomatic missions following a series of reciprocal staff expulsions and tense relations.

Later on Tuesday, the U.S. State Department confirmed that the discussions would take place in Istanbul, but stressed that their focus would be solely on «stabilizing the functions of our bilateral missions.»

«There will be no political or security topics on the agenda, and issues regarding Ukraine are absolutely excluded,» State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce stated to journalists.

She added, «These discussions are focused exclusively on our embassy operations and are not about normalizing bilateral relations.»

The initiative for these embassy talks followed a meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Saudi Arabia on February 18—the first high-ranking encounter between the two nations since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

U.S. President Donald Trump has advocated for a reset in relations with Moscow since his inauguration in January, prompting multiple rounds of discussions with Russian officials.

Reporting contributed by AFP.