Russia proposes restoring direct flights with US at Istanbul talks

Russian diplomats proposed resuming direct flights with the US at the latest round of US-Russia talks held in Istanbul, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Friday.

The sides focused “on practical results aimed at improving bilateral relations” during the talks, the ministry said in an official statement, adding that Moscow also raised the return of six Russian diplomatic properties in the US, which were seized between 2016 and 2018, to “create the necessary conditions for the diplomats to be able to carry out their work unhindered”.

The US State Department said on Thursday that the parties discussed “concrete initial steps to stabilise bilateral mission operations”, but made no mention of Moscow’s proposal to resume direct flights with the US, which were cancelled in February 2022 shortly after Russia launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Shares in Russian state airline Aeroflot, which was the only Russian carrier to operate direct flights to the US before 2022, jumped sharply in price following the Foreign Ministry statement, RBC Investments reported.

The second round of Russia-US talks was held in Istanbul on Thursday, with the Russian delegation headed by Alexander Darchiev, the director of the North American Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry and a rumoured candidate to be Russia’s next ambassador to Washington. The US delegation was led by Sonata Coulter, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Russia and Central Europe.