Russia hopes to hold another round of talks with the US in the fall to ease tensions in bilateral relations, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the TASS news agency on Tuesday.
In February and April, both sides had already held talks in Istanbul, which focused primarily on diplomatic issues and the operation of embassies. According to both delegations, progress was made.
Nevertheless, following the recent meeting between US President Donald Trump and Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska, no agreement was reached on ending the more than three-and-a-half-year war in Ukraine.
Ryabkov explained that the main reason for the delay in further meetings was not technical or scheduling issues, but rather the desire to achieve visible results. “We didn't want a meeting without tangible progress,” he said. Behind the scenes, work is continuing to lay the groundwork for the next steps.
The US State Department described the talks in Istanbul as “constructive” and emphasized that Ukraine was not on the agenda.
(reuters, est)