Russia says progress made in financial services for diplomatic missions during talks with US in Istanbul

Delegations from the two countries "exchanged diplomatic notes to formalise agreed commitments. These commitments are designed to facilitate unimpeded banking and financial services for Russian and American diplomatic missions, in addition to ensuring the fulfillment of the Russian Federation's contributions to the budgets of the UN and other international organisations," the consulate said in a press release.

The two sides "agreed to develop a roadmap" regarding the return of six diplomatic real estate properties confiscated by US authorities and lawfully owned by Russia, the consulate said.

They also discussed "easing visa processing and travel regulations for diplomatic staff within the host countries," it said, adding that the Russian side urged promoting the resumption of direct air flights between the two countries.

The timing of the next round of talks is "currently under coordination," it said.

Earlier in the day, the two sides finished their second round of talks on restoring diplomatic missions. The US delegation left the Russian consulate in Istanbul in the afternoon, following approximately five hours of meetings with the Russian side, Xinhua news agency reported.

The primary focus of the discussions is to address issues affecting the functioning of the two countries' embassies and consulates. The US State Department has emphasised that the talks are limited strictly to diplomatic operations.

"Ukraine is not, absolutely not on the agenda," US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said Tuesday. "These talks are solely focused on our embassy operations, not on normalising a bilateral relationship overall, which can only happen, as we've noted, once there is peace between Russia and Ukraine."

The first round of talks was held in Istanbul on February 27.

In recent years, Washington and Moscow have expelled numerous diplomats from each other's countries, significantly hindering the ability of their diplomatic missions to function effectively.