Russia on Friday said it had suggested restoring direct air links with the United States at what it described as substantive and businesslike talks in Turkey.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry, however, did not say how the US side had responded at Thursday’s meeting in Istanbul, but shared in Russian airline Aeroflot that were up 3.8 percent after the news.
It was gathered that many Western countries halted air links with Russia in 2022 due to sanctions aimed at punishing it for the war in Ukraine.
Restoring flights to and from the US would be the most tangible economic result so far from a growing rapprochement between presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.
The six hours of talks between senior diplomats in Istanbul came after Trump-Putin phone call on February 12 and a high-level meeting in Saudi Arabia on February 18.
According to the two sides, they want to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine and discuss the possibility of major business deals, but are focusing first on improving bilateral ties.
Recall that Putin on Thursday said that initial contacts with the Trump administration gave grounds for hope, and warned western elites not to sabotage them.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, in Istanbul, the sides discussed ways to overcome numerous irritants inherited from the previous US administration.
