Putin Says Talks With US "Inspire Certain Hopes" As 6+ Hour Istanbul Meeting Concludes

TASS is confirming that Russian and US delegations have concluded their meeting after more than six hours of talks in Istanbul on Thursday, the second round of such in-person talks after last week's bilateral Riyadh meeting. Like the prior high-level dialogue, the Istanbul talks cut out Ukrainian and European representation.

These talks have been focused on restoring full staffing at the two sides' respective embassies and the improving of relations - with an eye toward preparations for achieving a lasting peace settlement in Ukraine.

Importantly, on the same day President Vladimir Putin spoke of positive developments on these fronts in a meeting of the Federal Security Service. "We all see how rapidly the world is changing, the situation in the world. In this regard, I would like to note that the first contacts with the new US administration inspire certain hopes," he said.

"There is a mutual dedication to work towards restoring interstate relations and gradually resolving the enormous volume of accumulated systemic and strategic problems in the global architecture."

He emphasized that "it was precisely these problems that provoked both the Ukrainian and other regional crises at the time," as cited in TASS.

However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov separately took the opportunity to reaffirm what will remain a key Russian sticking point in any negotiations - that the four annexed territories in the east are not up for discussion.

"The territories which have become subjects of the Russian Federation, which are inscribed in our country’s constitution, are an inseparable part of our country," Peskov told reporters.

This after Ukraine's President Zelensky recently tried to push the possibility of an "exchange" of territory with Moscow – Kursk for the four annexed regions. But Moscow has issued a firm no to this possibility.

Peskov additionally said that Moscow doesn't see any immediate breakthroughs happening in these ongoing talks with the Trump administration.

"No one expects easy or quick solutions – the problem is too complex and has been neglected for too long. However, if both countries maintain their political will and willingness to listen to each other, I believe we will be able to navigate this working process," he said.

"There is no need to jump ahead. Information on the outcome of the negotiations will be provided in due course," he added.

Meanwhile, Moon of Alabama says that the US side risks getting further entangled in Ukraine via the controversial rare earths minerals deal being sought by the Trump White House...

By pressing for the agreement, instead of taking the Russian offer for access to minerals, Trump has committed himself to continue the war in Ukraine.

This "will lead to the failure of his peace initiative," the geopolitical blog continues. "The war Ukraine is now destined to become Trump's Vietnam." Let's hope this doesn't become the case.