The second round of negotiations between Russia and the U.S. took place in Istanbul

Representatives from Moscow and Washington have held a second meeting in Istanbul, with the new round of negotiations focused on issues related to the operation of embassies.

The meeting was reported by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MID).

“As part of a series of bilateral contacts at the highest and high levels, an expert meeting is being held in Istanbul today to explore ways to resolve numerous so-called ‘irritants’ that unfortunately persist in the bilateral dialogue. We hope that today’s meeting will be the first in a series of similar expert consultations that will bring us and the American side closer to overcoming the existing disagreements and strengthening trust measures,” said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova ahead of the event.

According to media reports, the central topics of the negotiations included U.S.-Russia bilateral relations and the restoration of embassy functions.

The negotiations, which lasted more than six hours, took place at the residence of the U.S. Consul General in the Arnavutköy district on the Bosphorus shore.

The Russian delegation, whose composition was not disclosed, left the residence at 16:20 local time without providing any comments to the press.

Recently, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced that Moscow and Washington would conduct full-fledged consultations dedicated to the normalization of embassy operations.

The first closed-door meeting between the delegations took place on February 18 in Saudi Arabia.