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The United States is willing to increase diplomatic staff at its embassy in Moscow, in order to facilitate and expedite visa issuance procedures.
Russian-American consultations on the normalization of the functioning of embassies will continue with a second round today in Istanbul. The Russian delegation will be led by the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Washington, Alexander Darchiev, while the American side will be represented by the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Russian and Central European Affairs, Sonata Coulter.
The first meeting between the two delegations took place on February 27 and lasted more than six hours, in a closed-door format. According to Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, the talks will be attended by senior representatives from the foreign ministries of both countries.
"The parties will continue their efforts to overcome obstacles, including technical ones, that are making the work of diplomats more difficult," she stressed.
Alexander Darchiev, who in February headed the North American Department at the Russian Foreign Ministry, will now participate as ambassador to the US. The American delegation will once again be led by Sonata Coulter. Unlike the first round, which was held at the residence of the US Consul General in Istanbul, this time the meeting will take place at the Russian Consulate General in the same city.
Ambassador Darchiev has stressed that Russia is ready for a serious dialogue with the US, including on the issue of the return of diplomatic property that, according to him, was unjustly confiscated by Washington. The agenda of the discussions is also expected to include the movement of diplomats in the host territory, as well as other issues such as visa and financial restrictions.
"These issues are related to the need to overcome the problematic legacy left by the previous US administration, which imposed significant restrictions on Russian diplomatic missions in the US," Darchiev stated.
On the other hand, the Russian delegation is also expected to open a discussion on the possibility of resuming direct flights between the two countries, with the aim of strengthening institutional and economic contacts.
US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said that the main goal of the meeting is to achieve progress towards further stabilizing the functioning of bilateral diplomatic missions.
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