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Special diplomatic mission: Russia and the United States are moving away from Biden's legacy
After the talks in Istanbul on April 10, representatives of the Russian Federation and the United States stated that it was necessary to immediately eliminate the irritants accumulated in the bilateral "dossier" under the Joe Biden administration. Uninterrupted banking and financial services of Russian and American diplomatic missions are required. The resumption of direct flights is also on the agenda. The expert community believes that the problem with flights can be resolved in the next two months, however, provided that the "aviation" sanctions are lifted and the visa issue is resolved. In general, the second round of consultations was largely devoted to the normalization of the work of diplomatic missions. In addition, on the eve of the Russian Federation and the United States conducted another prisoner exchange: Artur Petrov returned to Russia, Moscow released Ksenia Karelina. About what other agreements have been reached, see the Izvestia article.
Another round of talks between Russia and the United States in Istanbul
The Russian-American expert consultations in Istanbul lasted about six hours and were a logical continuation of the first round, which took place on February 27. Both conversations were held in a closed format. The Russian delegation was led by the new ambassador to the United States, Alexander Darchiev, whose appointment in February symbolized Moscow's attempt to restart dialogue with Washington. The American side was represented by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Sonata Coulter. Following the meeting, Darchiev said that the parties had stated the need to immediately eliminate the irritants inherited from the former American administration of Joe Biden.
The new Ambassador to the United States, Alexander Darchiev
The main topic was the restoration of the full-fledged work of the embassies. The delegations agreed to facilitate uninterrupted banking and financial services for Russian and American diplomatic missions. After mutual staff reductions in recent years and the confiscation of the Russian Federation's diplomatic property in the United States (six facilities), both sides faced the problem of providing consular services to citizens. American media, citing sources, write that Washington is ready to increase the staff of the embassy in Moscow to resume issuing visas — a critical step for thousands of Russians whose families and businesses are connected with the United States.
An important item on the agenda was the resumption of direct flights, suspended in 2022. As Darchiev noted, this would help expand business ties between residents of both countries. Earlier, he noted that the restoration of flights "will give impetus to official contacts and make life easier for citizens." For now, flights are operated through third countries, which increases the time and cost of travel. The State Department stressed the need for a "step-by-step approach" to this issue due to sanctions restrictions. The Russian Ambassador, in turn, called for more energetic progress towards solving major tasks that contribute to strengthening mutual trust and expanding business and public relations.
— On the one hand, the Russian Federation and the United States cannot stop anything. We see that a number of countries, especially Arab ones, operate flights to Russia, despite cross—cutting sanctions, including European ones," Artur Muradyan, vice president of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR), told Izvestia. — The question is that the sanctions are quite severe, and they will need to be lifted in order to resume direct flights.
In particular, we are talking about "aviation" restrictions prohibiting the maintenance of Western passenger aircraft in Russia and the supply of aircraft parts. Also, the EU and the USA countries closed their skies to Russian carriers after the start of their military operations. In response, the Russian Federation imposed a ban on flights of carriers from unfriendly countries over its territory. In addition, Russia and the United States should resolve the issue of issuing visas, analysts emphasize.
"Of course, people fly to other countries and get visas, but it's a long and difficult journey," Dmitry Gorin, vice president of the Russian Union of Travel Industry (PCT), explained to Izvestia.
However, it is possible that the problem of direct flights will be solved in the near future. Artur Muradian admits: under certain circumstances, this may happen in the next couple of months.
In general, the parties noted the "constructive nature" of the dialogue. As in February, when the Russian Foreign Ministry described the discussions as "substantive and businesslike," the April round confirmed that technical issues can be resolved outside the context of a geopolitical standoff. Following the results of the last round of consultations, the State Department clarified that the Russian and American delegations discussed the possibility of a new meeting in the near future.
The key stumbling block discussed in Istanbul was the issue of the return of Russian buildings in the United States. The Russian Federation and the United States have agreed to create a corresponding roadmap. The Russian ambassador said on the eve of the talks that Moscow intends to demand the return of diplomatic property, and called the US actions "illegal." Earlier, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Izvestia that this issue is one of the main issues in the dialogue between Moscow and Washington.
"Russian Ambassador Alexander Darchiev emphasized the importance of urgent practical steps in this direction, including the immediate admission of Russian representatives to these facilities for inspection and assessment of the damage," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement following the talks.
Moscow and Washington have exchanged prisoners
In addition, on the eve of the Istanbul talks, the parties conducted another prisoner exchange, which became part of an overall strategy to reduce tension. In Abu Dhabi, through the mediation of CIA Director John Ratcliffe and a senior Russian intelligence official, Moscow handed over Ksenia Karelina, a citizen of both countries who was sentenced to 12 years in 2023 for treason, to the United States. In return, Washington released Artur Petrov, a German and Russian citizen who was arrested in Cyprus at the request of the United States for allegedly illegally exporting microelectronics.
Ksenia Karelina, a dual citizen of Russia and the United States, who gained access to a donation agreement and charitable support for Ukraine, is present at a court hearing in Yekaterinburg.
The operation took place with the personal participation of Ratcliffe, who met Karelina at the airport. Trump's national security adviser Mike Waltz stressed: "The administration continues to work to free Americans around the world." Karelina's lawyer also confirmed the exchange, calling it "the result of difficult diplomatic work."
This is not the first such deal in recent months. On February 11, Moscow pardoned Mark Vogel, an ex-employee of the US Embassy, who was sentenced to 14 years. His return to the United States was accompanied by Steve Witkoff, Trump's special envoy for the Middle East, whose visit was the first in three years for a high-ranking American in Russia. At the same time, Alexander Vinnik returned from the United States, accused of laundering billions through a crypto exchange.
Alexander Vinnik, co-founder of the BTC-e cryptocurrency exchange
However, one should not rely solely on the Trump administration in this matter. The transfer of prisoners to each other is a normal practice of the parties, which has been carried out since the Cold War. The largest operation between the two countries took place on August 1, 2024, when Joe Biden was in power in the United States. Then the exchange fund of the parties exceeded 20 people.
Settlement of the Ukrainian crisis
The Ukrainian topic was absent from the negotiations. Russian Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia and the United States are not discussing this in Istanbul. Experts see a strategic shift here. Under Biden, relations were held hostage by the Ukrainian conflict, says Dmitry Novikov, associate professor and head of the HSE Laboratory of Political Geography and Modern Geopolitics.
— Now there is a de-Ukrainization of our relations, in which different tracks can be discussed separately from the Ukrainian problem. Of course, Ukraine will remain a source of risks. Theoretically, the entire negotiation process could break down in the event of some kind of escalation. But so far, this is the strategy. The resumption of diplomatic missions and direct flights open up opportunities for more Russians to travel to America and Americans to Russia, as well as for more systematic contacts between countries at different levels, Dmitry Novikov told Izvestia.
The fact that it was possible to untie the bilateral Russian-American issues from the settlement in Ukraine is an achievement of our negotiators, said Ivan Loshkarev, Associate professor of Political Theory at MGIMO University of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.
— During the Biden administration, it was an axiom to link: first the Ukrainian issues, then the rest. It would be short—sighted for Moscow to restore this link - it reduces the space for constructive solutions. It is also better not to link issues of strategic stability with a bilateral dialogue — for Washington, further discussion is impossible without Beijing, and for Moscow it makes no sense without Paris and London," Ivan Loshkarev said in an interview with Izvestia.
According to the expert, in the practice of international relations, trust is restored for years, if not decades. Horizontal connections, which are promoted by air travel, are only part of the process of restoring trust. Equally important, for example, are joint actions to solve any problems, for example, in the Middle East or Africa. Then there will be people in the state mechanism of the two countries who together achieved results, distributed responsibility and resources, Ivan Loshkarev summed up.
Although Ukraine did not appear on the Istanbul agenda, the Russian Federation and the United States have recently been actively discussing the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis. On February 12, the presidents of the two countries had their first telephone conversation since 2022. On March 18, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump had their second phone call. On March 24, in Riyadh, the Russian Federation and the United States discussed the Black Sea grain initiative and the continuation of dialogue on the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine. In addition, Russia and the United States agreed to develop measures to implement the agreements reached by the presidents of the two countries to ban attacks on energy facilities of the Russian Federation and Ukraine for a period of 30 days, starting on March 18, 2025. At the same time, the Russian side regularly points out violations of the moratorium by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. During the day, they attacked 11 energy infrastructure facilities on Russian territory, the Russian Defense Ministry said on April 10.
Kiev is obviously not ready for compromises yet. The deputy head of Zelensky's office, Pavel Palisa, for example, said that Ukraine would not allow external dictates on the size of the army.: "This is the red line." According to the draft 2022 peace treaty (Istanbul Agreements), Russia insisted on reducing the Armed Forces by more than half, the media wrote. At the same time, the Russian authorities have not recently made such demands. Moscow, however, unequivocally opposes the deployment of NATO troops in Ukraine, even as peacekeepers. Nevertheless, a number of Western countries, including France and the United Kingdom, are exploring options for deploying troops after the truce, from monitoring missions to "deterrence," said Kaya Kallas, head of the European Diplomacy.
The talks in Istanbul and the prisoner exchanges confirm that Russia and the United States are looking for common ground outside the Ukrainian context. And the restoration of embassies and flights may well create the basis for a future dialogue to resolve more pressing issues, including the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis.
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