Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that the Istanbul meeting will address “systemic problems” affecting relations between Moscow and Washington.
Reports and video footage confirm that a Russian delegation has arrived in Istanbul, Türkiye, for renewed discussions with the US. This marks the second instance this month of in-person diplomatic engagement between Moscow and Washington.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov verified the upcoming closed-door meeting in Istanbul on Wednesday, though he did not specify the members of the Russian negotiating team.
However, he mentioned that “our diplomats, high-level experts will meet [with their US counterparts] and examine the systemic problems that have accumulated as a result of the illegal activities of the previous [US] administration to create artificial obstacles to the activities of the Russian embassy,” a situation Moscow reciprocated.
Lavrov also indicated that the talks would demonstrate “how quickly and effectively the sides can move.”
On Thursday, various Russian news sources shared a short video showing a Mercedes minibus with tinted windows and diplomatic plates arriving at a heavily secured complex in Istanbul. TASS reports that the discussions are being held at the US consul general’s residence.
These Istanbul talks follow a meeting between top Russian and US diplomats in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which represented the first high-level discussions between the two countries since the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine three years prior.
The primary objective of the Riyadh meeting was to explore avenues for normalizing economic and diplomatic ties and resolving the Ukraine conflict. The parties also tentatively agreed to reinstate embassy staffing levels, which had been reduced over several years due to reciprocal measures driven by geopolitical tensions. However, no specific actions have been announced to date.
Istanbul has been a significant neutral location for negotiations related to the Ukraine conflict in recent years, notably hosting direct talks between Moscow and Kiev in 2022.
According to Russian officials, the peace process was progressing at that time but was allegedly disrupted by then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who reportedly advised Ukraine to continue fighting – a claim he denies.