US and Russian delegations arrived on Thursday for talks in Istanbul on normalizing the work of their diplomatic missions after the war in Ukraine triggered the biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the depths of the Cold War.
The talks will be led by Russia’s new ambassador to Washington, Alexander Darchiev, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Sonata Coulter, Russia’s foreign ministry said.
The main focus, according to Moscow and Washington, is restoring the work of diplomatic missions after years of rows, mutual claims of intimidation, and even the freezing of diplomatic property complicated relations between the two nuclear powers.
“Ukraine is not, absolutely not on the agenda,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said on Tuesday.
“These talks are solely focused on our embassy operations, not on normalizing a bilateral relationship overall, which can only happen, as we’ve noted, once there is peace between Russia and Ukraine.”
Both Moscow and Washington have complained in recent years about the difficulties of getting credentials for their diplomats, making the operation of their embassies extremely difficult.
Russia has said that even paying diplomats has become difficult due to Western restrictions, while U.S. diplomats say their movements are restricted in Russia. Both sides have complained of intimidation.
Among the issues is diplomatic property.
Washington has put six Russian properties under restrictions, including the Killenworth estate on Long Island, the Pioneer Point “dacha” in Maryland, the Russian consulates in San Francisco and Seattle, and the trade missions in Washington and New York.
