The peace process between the US and Russia continues unabated, as the two delegations are meeting in the Russian consulate building in Istanbul for talks on normalizing the work of their diplomatic missions, and in Abu Dhabi, UAE, a deal brokered by the two Intelligence agencies led to a prisoner swap.
The war in Ukraine sank the bilateral diplomatic relations between the two superpowers to the lowest level since the darkest days of the Cold War – but now a détente is in course that is expected to normalize the relationship.
Reuters reported:
“The talks will be led by Russia’s new ambassador to Washington, Alexander Darchiev, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Sonata Coulter, Russia’s foreign ministry said.
The main focus, according to Moscow and Washington, is restoring the work of diplomatic missions after years of rows, mutual claims of intimidation and even the freezing of diplomatic property complicated relations between the two nuclear powers.”
US delegation enters Russia’s Istanbul consulate for talks expected to last ‘at least 4 hours’ https://t.co/xxhe7seIl5 pic.twitter.com/AEUGLYAY9W
— RT (@RT_com) April 10, 2025
The US State Department made it clear earlier in the week that the Ukraine conflict is ‘absolutely not on the agenda.’
State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce: “These talks are solely focused on our embassy operations, not on normalizing a bilateral relationship overall, which can only happen, as we’ve noted, once there is peace between Russia and Ukraine.”
Slavyangrad reported:
“Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov – on the fact that the delegations of Russia and the USA are not discussing Ukraine today in Istanbul:
These are negotiations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the State Department exclusively on issues of settlement and normalization of bilateral relations. The topic of Ukrainian settlement is not discussed at these negotiations.
There are no time frames. There is an understanding that everyone is interested in a speedy settlement, but with the interests of the parties being respected. For us, this is, first of all, the interests of Russia.”
Both sides complain that it’s difficult to get credentials for their diplomats.
While Russians state that paying diplomats has become difficult due to Western banking restrictions, U.S. diplomats say their movements are restricted in Russia.
In the meantime, in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates, a prisoner swap took place today as ‘a sign of continuing confidence building’, the Wall Street Journal first reported (behind a paywall).
Deutsche Welle reported:
“The US and Russia carried out a prisoner exchange in Abu Dhabi on Thursday that saw US-Russian dual national Ksenia Karelina released from a Russian prison in exchange for Arthur Petrov, a German-Russian national.
[…] Karelina, a former ballet dancer, had been serving a 12-year prison sentence after being convicted in August 2024 of treason for donating around $50 (€45.30) to a charity benefiting Ukraine.
[…] US CIA Director John Ratcliffe, who was in Abu Dhabi to greet Karelina, told the Wall Street Journal newspaper: ‘Today, President Trump brought home another wrongfully detained American from Russia. I’m proud of the CIA officers who worked tirelessly to support this effort, and we appreciate the Government of UAE for enabling the exchange’.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also confirmed Karelina’s release.”
American Ksenia Karelina is on a plane back home to the United States.
She was wrongfully detained by Russia for over a year and President Trump secured her release. @POTUS will continue to work for the release of ALL Americans.
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) April 10, 2025
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