Next round of US-Russia embassy talks to move from Istanbul to Moscow

Russia and the United States have reached a preliminary agreement to relocate their diplomatic consultations on resolving bilateral "irritants" from Istanbul to their respective capitals, with the next round set to take place "very soon in Moscow," according to Russia’s new ambassador to Washington, Aleksandr Darchiev.

In an interview with TASS — his first since assuming the post in Washington on March 26 — Darchiev was asked whether the US administration is backing up its stated willingness to improve relations with Russia through concrete actions, and when and where the next round of talks on normalising embassy operations would be held.

“I’ve said before that a full recovery in Russian-American relations is still far off. The process remains difficult and is hindered not only by opponents of the White House from within the so-called ‘deep state,’ but also by ‘hawks’ in Congress, where a strong anti-Russian lobby persists,” Darchiev stated.

“Nevertheless, what matters is that progress, albeit reversible, is being made. A tangible example of this is the preliminary decision, reached during the latest round of consultations in Istanbul on April 10, to move the talks to [our] capitals,” he noted. “I can confirm that the next negotiations between the delegations will take place in Moscow in the very near future,” the ambassador added.

Talks aimed at normalising the functioning of the Russian and US embassies — and addressing other "irritants" in the two countries’ relations — were held in Istanbul on February 27 and April 10. The Russian delegation at both sessions was led by Darchiev, while the US side was headed by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, Sonata Coulter.

Following the first round, the US handed over an agrément for Darchiev’s appointment as Russia’s ambassador to Washington. After the second round, both sides exchanged diplomatic notes formalising an agreement to ensure unhindered banking services for each other’s diplomatic missions. They also agreed on further steps to ease the movement and visa processing of diplomatic staff.

According to Darchiev, Moscow emphasised the importance of the swift return of Russian diplomatic properties that were confiscated in the US.

By Tamilla Hasanova