The United States Department of State said on Thursday that delegations from the US and Russia discussed finalizing an "understanding to ensure the stability of diplomatic banking for Russian and US bilateral missions." The two teams met in Istanbul earlier today to discuss restoring ties, with the US delegation led by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Russia and Central Europe Sonata Coulter. According to the Kremlin, the war in Ukraine was not on the agenda.
The two sides agreed to hold a follow-up meeting "as needed," without specifying the date, location, and representation for now. The previous meeting took place on February 27, led by US State Secretary Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
