(Illustrative photo: TASS)
The rapprochement began after a call between presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump on February 12, followed by a high-level meeting between the two sides last week in Riyadh.

Thursday’s negotiations focused on restoring the normal functioning of the US and Russia’s respective diplomatic missions, which was agreed upon during their first round of negotiations last week in Saudi Arabia, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday.

Kremlin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that high-level talks between the United States and Russia are being prepared. He added that "there is currently a step-by-step implementation of the agreements reached by both heads of state and the high-level delegation during the talks in Riyadh. Discussions were being organized at the expert level through the foreign ministries, which would continue thereafter. This process will lead to the preparation of a summit meeting."

Kremlin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov (Photo: Reuters)
Moscow has had no ambassador in Washington since last October when the previous envoy Anatoly Antonov left his post. Both Russia and the US have expelled diplomats and limited the appointment of new staff at each other's missions in a series of tit-for-tat measures over the past decade, leaving their respective embassies thinly staffed.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will arrive in Washington on Friday, to sign a US-Ukraine minerals deal. On Sunday, he will meet European leaders in London to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine and deploying European peacekeeping forces to Ukraine.

But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that Moscow cannot consider "any options" for European peacekeepers being sent to Ukraine, adding the idea will fuel the conflict and make it harder to de-escalate.