Russia Expects Meeting With The United States In Istanbul To Increase Trust In Both Countries

Maria Zakharova. (Twitter/@mfa_russia)

JAKARTA - Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Russia hopes today's expert consultation with the United States in Istanbul will help build trust between Moscow and Washington,

"We hope today's meeting will be the first in a series of consultations by such experts that will bring us and the US closer to bridging the ravine that has formed between us, strengthening measures to build trust and so on," Zakharova said. , reported TASS February 27.

According to Zakharova, both sides will try to find a solution for many disturbing things in the bilateral dialogue caused by the previous US Administration, including the issue of restarting embassy operations.

He explained that the meeting was part of a series of bilateral interactions at the highest and highest levels.

"These problematic problems have accumulated as a result of the illegal activities of several previous teams at the White House. However, they are united, both in terms of their destructive personnel and Russophobia," he explained.

"They deliberately created obstacles to the operation of the Russian Embassy in Washington, thus damaging the diplomatic relations structure between the two countries," the diplomat explained.

Zakharova reiterated that Russia was forced to take reciprocal action.

"The awareness that this cannot take place indefinitely has finally become clear for a new team at the White House as well. We have consistently said that the worsening of bilateral relations is not our choice. But, of course, we continue to take countermeasures," he said.

Zakharova said the Russian Foreign Ministry would comment on the results of the meeting when details came in.

"However, experts have a lot of work to do, so let's wish them luck," he concluded.

Talks about the operation of the embassies of the two countries took place at the residence of the US Consulate General in Istanbul. According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the negotiators are "high-level diplomats and experts."

The meeting was held in a closed format and the planned duration was not announced.

As previously reported, the US delegation in Istanbul was led by Deputy Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Sonata Coulter, while the Russian delegation was led by the Head of the North American Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Alexander Darchiyev, quoted by Reuters.

The Russian team arrived in a black van Mercedes for a meeting at the US Consul General's fence in Istanbul. Russian state television said the talks were expected to last for five to six hours.

The talks in Istanbul followed a phone call between President Trump and President Putin on February 12, followed by a high-level diplomatic meeting in Saudi Arabia six days later.