Russia hopes the meeting with U.S. officials in Istanbul will "strengthen the trust" between the two countries, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Feb. 27. "We expect that today's meeting will be first in the series of similar expert consultations that will move us closer,

They would be the main options for Russians to fly to the US, or vice-versa.Two of Aeroflot's highest-capacity international routes are to Bangkok and Phuket in Thailand — both popular tourist destinations.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced on Wednesday that a meeting between Russian and US representatives to discuss embassy operations will take place on Thursday in Istanbul.

Amid the recent talks between US President Trump and Putin on ending war on Ukraine, now Russia has proposed to resume direct flights, "restoring direct air traffic" between the two countries, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday.

Russian negotiators have asked their American counterparts to consider reopening US airspace to Russian aircraft and restoring direct flights between the two countries, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday.

Rapprochement between the U.S. and Russia – following a diplomat-level meeting in Istanbul last week – gathered pace Thursday with the appointment of

Moscow expects that today's expert consultations with the United States in Istanbul will strengthen trust between Moscow and Washington and bring the parties closer to overcoming differences. This was stated at a briefing by the official representative of the Russian Foreign

Russian and US teams held six hours of talks in Turkey on Feb 27 to try to restore the normal functioning of their embassies, and President Vladimir Putin said initial contacts with Mr Donald Trump's new administration had inspired hope.

Diplomats from Russia and the United States will meet in Istanbul on Thursday to discuss the operation of their respective embassies in Moscow and Washington, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday.

Russian and US delegations will meet in Istanbul on Thursday to discuss how to restore their respective diplomatic missions, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

Putin hailed the Trump administration's "pragmatism and realistic view” compared with what he described as the “stereotypes and messianic ideological cliches” of its predecessors.