Thu 27 February 2025:
As part of efforts to normalize relations between Washington and Moscow, a Russian delegation arrived at the US Consulate General residence in Istanbul for a meeting to discuss operation of their respective embassies.
The Russian delegation reached the residence in Istanbul at 09.50 a.m. local time (0650 GMT).
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Turkish Foreign Ministry sources had confirmed on Wednesday that the meeting would take place.
“We announced that our diplomats and high-level experts would meet and consider the systemic problems that had accumulated as a result of the illegal activities of the previous (US) administration to create artificial obstacles to the activities of the Russian Embassy, to which we naturally reciprocated and also created uncomfortable conditions for the work of the American Embassy in Moscow,” Lavrov had said at a press briefing in Doha, Qatar.
The first meeting between the two countries’ delegations was held on Feb. 18 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to discuss bilateral relations and efforts to end the now over three-year-long war in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, preparations are also underway for a meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
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Kremlin says annexed Ukrainian territory is ‘non-negotiable’
“The territories which have become subjects of the Russian Federation, which are inscribed in our country’s constitution, are an inseparable part of our country. This is undeniable and non-negotiable,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
On thawing US-Russia ties, Peskov also said: “No one expects decisions to be easy and quick, but with the political will of the two countries, with the willingness to listen and hear each other, we will be able to get through this working process.”
Zelenskyy invited to EU summit next week
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been invited to a special European Union summit on March 6 to discuss possible European “security guarantees” for Ukraine, European Council President Antonio Costa says.
Europe is scrambling to make its voice heard after Trump sidelined Kyiv and its backers by launching talks with Russia to end the three-year war.
Next week’s talks in Brussels will focus on supporting Kyiv and bolstering Europe’s defences after Trump’s overtures to Moscow. The EU will also try to strike a deal on new weapons for Kyiv.
Costa, who heads the body representing the EU’s 27 member states, told leaders in an invitation letter that “new momentum” around a Ukraine settlement “should lead to a comprehensive, just and lasting peace”.
He told leaders he had invited Zelenskyy to discuss “the latest developments”.
“The EU and its member states are ready to take more responsibility for Europe’s security,” Costa wrote.
The bloc, he said, “should therefore be prepared for a possible European contribution to the security guarantees that will be necessary to ensure a lasting peace in Ukraine”.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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