U.S. and Russian diplomats met Thursday in Istanbul, looking for ways to smooth their embassy relationships in Moscow and Washington after frequent expulsion of each other’s diplomats and three years of American opposition to Moscow’s war on Ukraine.

Diplomats from Russia and the United States will meet in Istanbul on Thursday to discuss the operation of their respective embassies in Moscow and Washington, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday.

MOSCOW — Russia has offered the United States to restore direct air links between the two countries during the latest round of consultations with Washington, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Friday.

Russian and U.S. diplomats have held talks in Istanbul to discuss ways to normalize the operation of their embassies after diplomatic expulsions.

The Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday said that Moscow and Washington have agreed on steps to remove obstacles to financing their embassies. Commenting on the outcome of Thursday’s talks in Istanbul, a ministry statement said that "discussions were conducted in a meaningful and businesslike manner."

Moscow expects that today's expert consultations with the United States in Istanbul will strengthen trust between Moscow and Washington and bring the parties closer to overcoming differences. This was stated at a briefing by the official representative of the Russian Foreign

Russian and U.S. teams held six hours of talks in Turkey on Thursday to try to restore normal functioning of their embassies, and Vladimir Putin said initial contacts with Donald Trump's new administration had inspired hope.

Abdullah Ocalan’s appeal raised the prospect of an end to a conflict between Turkey and the PKK that since the 1980s has killed an estimated 40,000 people.

Russia has proposed to the US restoring direct air links, amidst discussions to normalize US-Russian diplomatic operations. Talks held in Istanbul addressed bilateral embassy operations, banking access,