US, Russia begin next round of talks in Turkey focused on embassy work

Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.

A Russian delegation arrived at the residency of the U.S. Consul General in Istanbul, starting the second round of Russian-U.S. talks, the state news agency TASS reported on Feb. 27.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced on Feb. 26 that Washington and Moscow would hold a second round of talks in Turkey, just over a week after delegates from the two countries met in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 18 for their first direct talks since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The second meeting will not include discussions on Ukraine, a U.S. State Department spokesperson told the media. According to Lavrov, the deliberations will focus on embassy operations.

The meeting will be held behind closed doors. The composition of the two delegations was not disclosed.