US, Russia to meet Thursday in Istanbul on restoring embassy operations

US, Russia to meet Thursday in Istanbul on restoring embassy operations
(Reuters/File)
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Updated 08 April 2025

US, Russia to meet Thursday in Istanbul on restoring embassy operations

US, Russia to meet Thursday in Istanbul on restoring embassy operations
  • State Department says the two sides will hold talks on Thursday in Istanbul

WASHINGTON: The United States and Russia will hold talks on Thursday in Istanbul on restoring some of their embassy operations that have been drastically scaled back following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, the US State Department said.
The talks, the second of their kind, come after President Donald Trump reached out to Russia following the start of his second term and offered better ties if it winds down fighting in Ukraine.
The two sides will “try to make progress on further stabilizing the operations of our bilateral missions,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters on Tuesday.
“There are no political or security issues on the agenda, and Ukraine is not — absolutely not — on the agenda,” she said.
“These talks are solely focused on our embassy operations, not on normalizing a bilateral relationship.”
The talks are going ahead despite Russia rejecting a Ukraine-backed US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday lamented the lack of a US response.
Trump a day later told reporters that he was not happy that Russia was “bombing like crazy right now.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has previously said that it is important for both the United States and Russia to resume higher staffing at their respective embassies to improve contacts, regardless of the situation in Ukraine.


Drone scare halts traffic at Sweden’s second-biggest airport

Updated 19 sec ago

Drone scare halts traffic at Sweden’s second-biggest airport

Drone scare halts traffic at Sweden’s second-biggest airport
“A drone or drones have been observed at Landvetter Airport,” a spokesperson at civil aviation agency LFV said
A police spokesperson said police received a report of suspected drone sightings by several individuals

GOTHENBURG, Sweden: Traffic was halted at the Gothenburg-Landvetter Airport on Sweden’s west coast on Thursday after one or more drones were observed at the airport, authorities said.
Drones have caused major disruption across Europe in recent months, forcing temporary airport closures in several countries. Some officials have blamed the incidents on hybrid warfare by Russia. Moscow has denied any connection with the incidents.
“A drone or drones have been observed at Landvetter Airport,” a spokesperson at civil aviation agency LFV said.
A police spokesperson said police received a report of suspected drone sightings by several individuals at 1641 GMT and were at the scene gathering information, trying to confirm the report.
“We have launched an investigation into suspected aviation sabotage,” the police spokesperson said.
The airport is Sweden’s second-biggest after Stockholm’s Arlanda, according to airport operator Swedavia.
“The airspace above Landvetter is currently closed due to indications of a suspected drone,” Swedavia Chief Operating Officer Susanne Norman said. “The airspace will remain closed while the police investigate.”
On Tuesday, drone sightings forced closures of airports and a military air base in Belgium in what the country’s defense minister called a coordinated attack.
On Thursday, police in Sweden’s neighbor Norway said they had closed
a probe
into suspected sightings that caused a shutdown of Oslo’s airport in September, citing insufficient evidence that drones had been present.
In neighboring Denmark, several airports, including Copenhagen, also closed temporarily in September due to reported drone sightings.