Russian and US delegations engaged in six hours of discussions in Turkey on Thursday in an effort to normalise embassy operations, with Russian President Vladimir Putin stating that initial engagements with Donald Trump’s new administration had offered hope.
The talks, which focused on diplomatic conditions for both sides, marked an early test of the two nations’ ability to reset broader relations. This comes as Trump’s diplomatic outreach to Moscow has raised concerns among Washington’s European allies and Kyiv.
The Kremlin had previously described relations under Joe Biden’s administration as “below zero,” citing US military aid and sanctions imposed on Russia over its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. However, Trump, who has pledged to swiftly end the war, has moved quickly to engage Moscow, initiating a phone call with Putin on 12 February and holding a high-level diplomatic meeting in Saudi Arabia six days later.
Russia’s state news agency TASS reported that Thursday’s talks took place at the gated residence of the US consul general in Istanbul and concluded without any public statements.
Ukraine and European allies fear Trump’s rapid rapprochement with Moscow could result in a peace deal that marginalises them and compromises their security. Trump has stated his intention to end the conflict through an early ceasefire.
Putin, however, tempered expectations of an immediate resolution, stressing that trust between the US and Russia must first be rebuilt. Speaking to members of Russia’s FSB security service on Thursday, he said, “I note that the first contacts with the new American administration inspire certain hopes.”
“There is a reciprocal mood to work to restore intergovernmental ties and to gradually resolve the huge number of systemic and strategic problems that have built up in the world’s security architecture,” he added.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova described the Istanbul discussions as the first in a series of meetings aimed at building confidence and addressing longstanding diplomatic tensions.
Meanwhile, in a sign of judicial cooperation, Russia’s prosecutor general’s office announced that Dmitry Koshelev, accused of stealing $1.5 million from a courier at gunpoint in 2014, was being deported from the US on Thursday.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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