"The United States raised concerns regarding access to banking and contracted services as well as the need to ensure stable and sustainable staffing levels at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow," the U.S. State Department said.

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.

Witkoff, Trump’s top negotiator, said the U.S. would be looking to talks from early in the war as a basis for a deal. Ukraine’s supporters saw it as an embrace of a Kremlin talking point.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday that Russia and the US held expert-level talks in Istanbul to address ongoing tensions and strengthen confidence-building ...

Russian negotiators have asked their American counterparts to consider reopening US airspace to Russian aircraft and restoring direct flights between the two countries, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday.