According to the statement, the negotiations began at 10:00 (Istanbul time), after the arrival of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs delegation.

The Russian-American meeting focuses on the “irritating” issues in the relations between the two powers and the normalization of the functioning of their diplomatic offices.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stressed that the results of the meeting will determine to what extent the two countries can advance in the solution of the problems.

On February 18th, official delegations from Russia and the United States met for the first time in Saudi Arabia to seek normalization of their relations, arrange a summit between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, and facilitate possible negotiations to resolve the Ukrainian conflict.

Both delegations agreed to create a favorable climate for the full resumption of bilateral cooperation in various areas of common interest, lift artificial barriers affecting the functioning of their embassies, and form a high-level working group to begin resolving the Ukrainian crisis.

The meeting in Saudi Arabia took place almost a week after Putin and Trump’s first telephone conversation in which they discussed Ukraine, the Middle East, the prisoner exchange, the Iranian nuclear program, and the state of relations between Washington and Moscow.

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