Secret talks in Istanbul open up hope of easing Russia-US tensions

In a surprise move, senior Russian and US officials spoke out together after closed-door talks in Istanbul, affirming the urgency to resolve "unpleasant issues" that accumulated under the previous administration of President Joe Biden.

Notably, the focus of this second round of consultations appears to have shifted to the restoration of normal diplomatic missions between the two powers. This information, revealed by the Russian newspaper Izvestia, coincided with another prisoner exchange between Moscow and Washington, indicating parallel efforts to cool bilateral tensions.

One notable detail that experts see as a strategic shift is that the situation in Ukraine was not on the official agenda of the Istanbul talks. Dmitry Novikov, associate professor at the Moscow Higher School of Economics, said that under the Biden administration, US-Russia relations “remain tied” to the Ukraine conflict.

However, Mr. Novikov said that the current relationship is undergoing a process of "de-Ukrainization", opening up the possibility of discussing many bilateral issues separate from the Ukrainian issue.

While acknowledging that Ukraine remains a potential “source of risk” that could derail negotiations, Novikov believes that the resumption of normal diplomatic missions and direct flights could facilitate more consistent communication between the two countries at many levels.

For his part, Ivan Loshkaryov, Associate Professor at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, stressed that the ability of Russia and the United States to separate bilateral relations from efforts to resolve the conflict in Ukraine is due to the "credibility of the negotiators."

Mr. Loshkaryov noted that restoring trust in international relations is a long-term process that can take years or even decades. According to the expert, joint cooperation efforts on other issues, for example in the Middle East or Africa, will play an important role in rebuilding trust.

The second round of talks in Istanbul, which took place on April 10 and lasted five and a half hours, followed the first meeting on February 27. The Russian delegation was again led by Russian Ambassador to the United States Alexander Darchiev, while the US side was still led by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Russia and Central Europe Sonata Coulter.

To ensure balance, the April meeting was held at the Russian Consulate General in Istanbul, after the previous round of talks took place at the residence of the US Consulate General.

After the meeting, Ambassador Darchiev announced that the two sides had made progress in normalizing the work of diplomatic missions. One concrete result was that Russia and the United States exchanged diplomatic notes, agreeing to ensure unhindered access to banking services for each other's missions.

In addition, the two countries also agreed to take further measures to ease travel restrictions and issue visas to diplomats.

In particular, the Russian and US delegations stressed the "urgent need to eliminate the unpleasant problems left by the Biden administration". Russia also prioritized the rapid recovery of diplomatic property seized in the US. Mr. Darchiev believes that the resumption of direct air service between the two countries will help expand business ties and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.

Moscow and Washington are expected to finalize work on the proposals made in Istanbul at the next meeting, the exact date of which will be determined later.

On the US side, the US State Department also confirmed in a statement that the two sides discussed plans to hold a follow-up meeting to address outstanding issues in bilateral relations. The statement said Coulter and Darchiev "discussed holding a follow-up meeting on these issues in the near future, if necessary."

Meanwhile, TASS news agency reported on April 11 that Russian President Vladimir Putin met with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the meeting, saying the two sides also discussed normalizing relations between Moscow and Washington and some aspects of resolving the Ukraine issue.

US economist Jeffrey Sachs told TASS news agency on April 12 that the negotiation process between Russia and the US is effective and could lead to the lifting of sanctions previously imposed by Washington on Moscow.

"I think the ongoing negotiations between the US and Russia could be very productive. There is hope, certainly there is. Things are moving in the right direction towards lifting US sanctions on Russia, I think," Sachs stressed.

Sachs, who is currently a professor and director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University in New York, added that he does not see any immediate risks for Russia at the moment related to US President Donald Trump's tariff policy: "President Trump's so-called tariff war will not be a big problem for Russia, as it will not have a direct and significant impact on the country."