Russian and U.S. diplomats met in Istanbul on Thursday to discuss normalizing the operation of their respective embassies after years expelling each others' diplomats.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the talks followed an understanding reached during President Donald Trump's call with Russian President Vladimir Putin and contact between senior Russian and U.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday announced that Russian and US diplomats are set to meet in Istanbul on February 27 to discuss the work of the two countries' embassies, reported TASS.

Russia hopes the meeting with U.S. officials in Istanbul will "strengthen the trust" between the two countries, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Feb. 27. "We expect that today's meeting will be first in the series of similar expert consultations that will move us closer,