Russian and American officials will meet for diplomatic discussions in Istanbul on 10 April, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed on 8 April.
Russia’s newly appointed ambassador to the United States, Alexander Darchiyev, will lead Moscow’s delegation at the talks. The US team will be headed by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Sonata Coulter, according to Russia’s state-run TASS news agency.
The talks reportedly will focus on restoring the two countries’ diplomatic missions, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
The upcoming meeting follows last week’s visit to Washington by President Vladimir Putin’s representative, Kirill Dmitriev. During his two-day trip, Dmitriev met with Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
These discussions come shortly after President Trump expressed frustration with Putin regarding the lack of progress toward a ceasefire in Ukraine.
Since Trump took office in January, he and Putin have held two publicly announced phone conversations. These calls marked a renewal of high-level contact between Washington and Moscow after relations had deteriorated following Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
On 18 February, high-level officials from Washington and Moscow held their first official talks in Riyadh since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022
A diplomatic source told Reuters that the 10 April talks will take place at the Russian consulate in Istanbul. Both delegations will consist exclusively of diplomats, according to Russian Foreign Ministry statements reported by TASS.
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