Russian and U.S. diplomats will meet in Istanbul on Thursday for talks aimed at restoring their respective diplomatic missions, seen as a step towards ending the war in Ukraine, both sides said on Wednesday.

The Russian Foreign Ministry praised the latest round of talks with the United States in a statement on Friday, calling them "substantive and businesslike." Russian and U.S. teams held six hours of talks in Turkey on Thursday to try to restore the normal functioning of their embassies,

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.