USA – Russia: Second Round of Talks in Istanbul on Thursday
Emphasis is placed on normalization of bilateral relations. The Ukrainian issue is not on the agenda
On Thursday, April 10, the second round of talks between Russia and the United States will take place in Istanbul, Turkey. The previous meeting was held on February 27 of this year. The Russian delegation at the talks will be headed by Russian Ambassador to Washington Alexander Darchiev, while the American delegation will be headed by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Sonata Coulter.
The new round of talks between Russia and the United States will focus on normalizing the activities of the respective embassies in Washington and Moscow.
On the eve of the meeting between Russian and American diplomats, US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said that the topic of the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine would not be discussed during the second round of Russia-US talks in Istanbul: “There are no political or security issues on the agenda: the talks will focus solely on the activities and functioning of our respective embassies and not address the issue of normalization of bilateral relations in general.”
Russia expressed gratitude to Turkey for its hospitality and readiness to act as a mediator. Immediately after talks between the Russian and US delegations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will visit Turkey on April 12 to participate in the Diplomatic Forum in Antalya. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, “Lavrov will visit Turkey on April 12 at the invitation of his Turkish counterpart to participate in the fourth Diplomatic Forum in Antalya. The program of the event includes a speech by the Russian Foreign Minister, as well as bilateral meetings with foreign colleagues.”
