Second round Russia-US consultations kick off in Istanbul

The second round of Russia-US consultations kicked off in Istanbul, TASS reported.

The talks are taking place at the Russian consulate general; they focus on the work of diplomatic missions.

Russia’s delegation is led by Moscow’s Ambassador to Washington Alexander Darchiev, the U.S. – by Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Sonata Coulter.

According to the agency's source, the consultations will be held in a closed format. The talks are scheduled to last several hours, but will not be as long as the previous round.

The previous round of Russia-US consultations was held at the U.S. consul general's residence in Istanbul on February 27; the meeting lasted over six hours. The Russian Foreign Ministry said afterwards that "the discussions took place in a meaningful and businesslike atmosphere," and it was "agreed to maintain dialogue via this channel."