Diplomats from Washington and Moscow met today in Istanbul to discuss a number of technical issues in their relationship.
However, the war in Ukraine was not discussed, a US spokesman said.
It is reported that the two sides will discuss “difficult issues” including visas, embassy staffing levels, the work of each side’s institutions and agencies abroad.
Russian Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the meeting was between the heads of departments of the Russian Foreign Ministry and the US State Department – a relatively low level.
The technical meeting should not be seen as a sign that the two sides were ready to resume discussing “big issues”, he added.
A spokesman from the US embassy in Ankara confirmed the meeting and said “a senior official from the State Department was in Istanbul to meet with Russian interlocutors on a narrow set of bilateral issues.”
“Russia’s war in Ukraine was not discussed,” the spokesman said.
