US and Russia start talks in Istanbul
10 April 11:43
Negotiations between the delegations of Russia and the United States have begun in the Turkish city of Istanbul. They will be held behind closed doors. This was reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to Russian media.
According to the agency, the talks began at 10:00 a.m. local time.
The Russian delegation at the consultations is headed by Ambassador to Washington Alexander Darchiev. The American side is represented by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Sonata Coulter.
The meeting is being held on Istanbul’s main tourist street, Istiklal, where the Consulate General is located. The city authorities have stepped up security in connection with the meeting – police officers are stationed both along the 1.5-kilometer pedestrian street and near the diplomatic mission building.
According to the agency, the talks will last at least four hours. However, it is planned that they will be shorter than the last round, which took place in Istanbul on February 27 at the residence of the US Consul General and lasted more than six hours.
The US State Department confirmed that the talks in Istanbul will “focus exclusively on the work of our embassy.”
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US-Russia talks
on February 18, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Prime Minister’s aide Yuri Ushakov met in Saudi Arabia with an American delegation, represented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Volz, and Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Vitkoff.
After the talks, the US State Department reported that the delegations agreed to “eliminate irritants” in bilateral relations and continue to work on preparing talks on Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The two sides also agreed to appoint high-level groups for further talks on Ukraine.
Jackie Heinrich, a Fox News correspondent at the White House, reported that the United States and Russia discussed a three-stage peace plan for Ukraine, which consists of the following stages
- A ceasefire.
- Holding elections in Ukraine.
- Conclusion of a peace agreement.
on February 27, negotiations between the Americans and Russians continued in Istanbul. According to the Russian side, they discussed the normalization of diplomatic relations. The Kremlin also allegedly demanded the return of 6 properties that had been seized from Russians in the United States in 2016-2018, and also proposed to resume air travel.
on March 13, Putin met in Moscow with Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff. The parties have not yet made any statements about the results of this meeting, except for the words of Trump’s national security adviser Mike Volz that there are grounds for cautious optimism.
