By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
MOSCOW/ISTANBUL/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that his contacts with U.S. President Donald J. Trump and his administration had “inspired hope” as both sides began talks on how to restore relations and end the war in Ukraine.
Putin’s remarks came on ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to the White House after he complained about feeling left out of talks on the future of his nation that Moscow invaded three years ago.
As Zelenskyy prepared to meet Trump, U.S. teams held six hours of talks in Turkey on Thursday to restore their embassies’ normal functioning, officials said.
The talks focused narrowly on the conditions of each other’s diplomats.
The gathering provided an early test of the two countries’ ability to reset broader relations amid a Trump administration outreach effort that has alarmed Washington’s European allies and Kyiv.
In Moscow, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the Istanbul talks were expected to be the first in a series of contacts to build confidence and remove “irritants” in bilateral relations.
In an example of judicial cooperation, the office of Russia’s prosecutor general announced that Dmitry Koshelev, wanted by Moscow on suspicion of stealing $1.5 million from a courier at gunpoint in 2014, was being deported from the United States on Thursday.
Washington described Thursday’s talks as “constructive.”
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
Romanian prosecutors say they have launched a criminal investigation against Calin Georgescu, the perceived far-right frontrunner in last year’s canceled presidential election seen as an ally of Russia.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that his contacts with U.S. President Donald J. Trump and his administration had “inspired hope” as both sides began talks on how to restore relations and end the war in Ukraine.
Massive protests were underway in Greece on Friday on the second adversary of the nation’s deadliest train crash after a report blamed human error, outdated infrastructure, and significant systemic failures for the head-on collision killing 57 people.
Negotiations between Israel and Hamas on the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire began in Cairo Thursday amid mounting concerns the truce will collapse.
Influencer brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate, who were charged with human trafficking in Romania, arrived Thursday on a private jet in the United States after Romanian authorities lifted travel restrictions on the siblings following questions about the case from U.S. President Donald J. Trump’s administration.
Muslims in eastern Uganda attacked and stabbed an evangelist who, along with his team, had converted a Muslim widow to Christianity during an open-air preaching session on February 15, according to Morning Star News.
Israeli Military Intelligence and the Southern Command ignored more than five warnings, such as new SIM activations in Gaza and unusual Hamas activities. Dismissing these as routine, they overlooked signs of the impending October 7 attack. On this day in 2023, Hamas and other terrorists groups launched an unprecedented invasion from Gaza into southern Israel, coinciding with Simchat Torah and marking the start of the ongoing Gaza war.