Putin ‘hopeful’ as Russia and US press on with diplomatic reset

As the two nations sent diplomats to Istanbul for discussions on normalizing the operation of their respective embassies in each other’s capitals, President Vladimir Putin expressed “hope” over the possibility of Russia renouncing its relations with the United States.

Putin praised the new US president Donald Trump’s “pragmatism and realistic view” at a Federal Security Service meeting, citing a “reciprocal mood” to reset relations and address “systemic and strategic issues… in the world’s security architecture.”

The Russian president’s televised comments came as Moscow and Washington sent representatives to Turkiye’s commercial hub on Thursday for more than six hours of talks on thawing diplomatic relations, which had – in the Kremlin’s words – &nbsp, plummeted to “below zero” last year against the backdrop of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The talks, held at the US consul general’s residence, were aimed at resolving embassy issues, in particular the tit-for-tat measures that have seen both countries expelling diplomats and limiting the appointment of new staff at each other’s missions.

Talks centered primarily on issues like staffing levels, visas, and diplomatic banking, according to a US State Department official who had earlier made it clear that Ukraine would not be on the agenda. “We will know soon if&nbsp, Russia&nbsp, is really willing to engage in good faith”, he said.

Neither country identified the participants, but Russia’s state news agency TASS said the Russian delegation included “foreign ministry representatives”.

US-Russia resume talks

After Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, ties between Moscow and Washington dropped to their lowest levels since the Cold War.

Joe Biden’s administration strongly supported Ukraine with aid and weapons and imposed sanctions on Russia for the war.

Trump, however, has made a significant change in relations by calling Putin earlier this month as part of a wider outreach campaign.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met in Saudi Arabia on Thursday to discuss the three-year-old Ukrainian conflict.

Ukraine’s and its European allies are worried about a ceasefire deal that would put an end to the conflict that sidelines them and threatens their security, as a result of the rapprochement.

Trump and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer sat down in the Oval Office on Thursday to discuss the possibility of a deal with Ukraine, praising his “very good relationship” with both Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Ukraine war talks

Zelenskyy is scheduled to sign a deal on Friday that will give the US access to rare earth mineral deposits, a strategy used by Trump to recover money that was diverted to Ukraine throughout the war.

Trump reiterated his opposition to giving Kyiv security guarantees during his meeting with Starmer, claiming that the minerals deal was the only security guarantee Ukraine needed to protect itself from upcoming Russian aggression.

“I don’t think anybody’s going to play around if we’re there with a lot of workers and having to do with rare earths and other things, which we need for our country”, he said.

The US president also expressed confidence that any peace deal that Russia has proposed will not be reversed by Russia, which has opposed sending European peacekeepers to Ukraine.

“  Right now we don’t have a deal. We have Russia, we have Ukraine. I think we’re very well advanced. I think Russia has been acting very well”, he said.