WNAM REPORT: Russian and US delegations will meet in Istanbul on Thursday for the second round of consultations on the normalization of the operation of their embassies.
The first such meeting took place on February 27. It lasted for more than six hours and was held behind closed doors.
According to Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, the meeting will involve officials from the two countries’ foreign ministries. “The sides will continue ongoing efforts to remove numerous obstacles, including technical ones, that are hampering diplomats,” she said.
The Russian delegation will again be led by Alexander Darchiev, now Russia’s ambassador to the United States. In February, he was director of the ministry’s North America department. The US delegation will be led by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Russia and Central Europe Sonata Coulter.
Whereas the February round was held at the residence of the US consul general in Istanbul, the venue of this round will be the Russian consulate general.
According to the Russian ambassador, Russia is set for a serious discussion with the United States regarding the return of diplomatic property wrongfully confiscated by Washington. The agenda will also include issues of diplomats’ movements around the host country, visa and financial restrictions. “This is about addressing the ‘toxic legacy’ of the previous US administration, which imposed severe restrictions on the activities of Russian diplomatic missions in the United States,” Darchiev said.
Apart from that, the Russian delegation is expected to raise the issue of resuming direct air service between the two countries, which would give a fresh impetus to official and business contacts.
US Department of State Spokesperson Tammy Bruce also said that the delegations will “try to make progress on further stabilizing the operations of our bilateral missions.” “There are no political or security issues on the agenda, and Ukraine is absolutely not on the agenda,” she noted.
The Istanbul track is not the only one in contacts between Moscow and Washington after Donald Trump took office. The sides maintain top level contacts: Russian President Vladimir Putin has held two phone calls with Trump. The two countries’ senior official met in Riyadh to discuss a wide spectrum of issues of relations between Russia and the United States, as well as other matters on mutual interest. Apart from that, the two countries’ representatives met in Riyadh over the resumption of the Black Sea grain initiative. Communication is maintained in other formats as well.
