The statement specifies that the upcoming meeting will take place shortly, to discuss issues related to diplomatic relations, although the date, place and representation are yet to be determined.

The delegations from Russia and the United States met on Thursday in the Turkish city of Istanbul to address “irritating” issues in relations between the two powers and the normalization of the functioning of their embassies.

The US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Russia and Central Europe, Sonata Coulter, and the director of the North American Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Alexandr Darchíev, headed the delegations at the meeting. Both leaders expressed concern about access to banking services, the use of contract workers, and the need to maintain the number of staff at the US embassy in Moscow.

On February 18th, official delegations from Russia and the United States met for the first time in a long while, in the Saudi city of Riyadh, to seek the normalization of bilateral relations. They also discussed how to arrange the first summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump and facilitate possible negotiations to resolve the Ukrainian conflict.

The two countries agreed to create a favorable climate for the full resumption of bilateral cooperation in various areas of common interest, as well as to lift the artificial barriers that affect the operation of their embassies and to form a working group to begin to resolve the Ukrainian crisis.

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