A Russian delegation arrived at the residence of the U.S. Consul General in Istanbul, starting the second round of Russian-U.S. talks, the state news agency TASS reported on Feb. 27.
U.S. and Russian delegates previously met for the first round of talks in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 18 as U.S. President Donald Trump pushes to broker a peace deal in Ukraine. Ukrainian delegates were not invited to the talks.
The second meeting will not include discussions on Ukraine, a U.S. State Department spokesperson told the media. According to Lavrov, the deliberations will focus on embassy operations.
The meeting will be held behind closed doors. Russia's diplomacy chief said that the Russian delegation will include "high-level diplomats and experts," without providing names.
The discussions would concern "systemic problems that have accumulated as a result of the illegal activities of the previous U.S. administration to create artificial obstacles to the activities of the Russian Embassy," leading Moscow to "respond in kind," Lavrov said.
The Biden administration has cut most official contacts with Russia after the outbreak of the full-scale war in an attempt to isolate Russian President Vladimir Putin on the global stage.
Trump's return to the White House marked a tectonic shift in U.S. foreign policy. The new president adopted more critical rhetoric toward Ukraine and other partners, at times echoing Russian narratives.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
