Russia’s foreign minister announced the meeting is scheduled for Thursday in Istanbul.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced that high-ranking officials from Russia and the United States will meet this week to discuss the operations of their respective embassies.
Lavrov stated at a press conference in Doha, Qatar, on Wednesday that the meeting will be held in Istanbul, Turkey, on February 27. Discussions will center on normalizing the operations of both countries’ embassies. According to Lavrov, the success of these talks will determine the speed and effectiveness of future progress.
Lavrov said the two sides are expected to discuss “systemic issues” that have arisen as a result of the “previous US administration’s illegal actions to create artificial obstacles” for the Russian embassy’s operations.
Russia and the United States have a long history of diplomatic friction, including reciprocal expulsions of embassy staff, that predates the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. A key point of contention occurred in late 2016 when President Barack Obama’s administration limited Russian diplomats’ access to properties in New York and Maryland, and later seized additional Russian properties.
Tensions increased further under President Joe Biden, resulting in operational restrictions on embassies in both countries, which significantly impacted diplomatic staffing and overall embassy functions.
Ambassador Lynne Tracy has led the US diplomatic mission in Russia since 2023. Anatoly Antonov, Russia’s former ambassador to the US, left his position in October 2024. According to Russian media sources, the Foreign Ministry has nominated Aleksandr Darchiev, the head of its North American Department, for the position. Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, told RIA Novosti this month that Moscow has proposed a candidate but is awaiting Washington’s approval.
This development follows high-level Russia-US talks in Saudi Arabia on February 18, where both countries agreed to work toward ending the Ukraine conflict and strengthening diplomatic and economic ties. Lavrov described the Riyadh meeting as a first step toward rebuilding relations, emphasizing the need for Moscow and Washington to address the “legacy” of the Biden administration. Lavrov stated that quickly appointing ambassadors in Washington and Moscow would be a crucial step toward restoring full-scale cooperation.
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