Russia says it suggested restoring air links with US at talks

Russia said on Friday 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 did not say how the U.S. side had responded at Thursday's meeting in Istanbul, but shares in Russian airline Aeroflot were up 3.8% after the news.

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 U.S. 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 followed a Trump-Putin phone call on February 12 and a high-level meeeting in Saudi Arabia on February 18.

The two sides say 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. Putin said on Thursday that initial contacts with the Trump administration gave grounds for hope, and warned "Western elites" - meaning Britain and the European Union - not to sabotage them.

In Istanbul, "the sides discussed ways to overcome numerous 'irritants' inherited from the previous U.S. administration," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

It said steps were agreed to ensure unimpeded financing of each side's embassies and to enable diplomats to work normally, after years of tit-for-tat expulsions and disputes. Russia also raised the isse of getting back six embassy properties in the U.S. that were confiscated between 2016 and 2018.

"The need for practical results aimed at creating conditions for improving bilateral relations in the interests of the peoples of our countries was particularly emphasised," the Foreign Ministry said in its statement.

"In concrete terms, the American side was asked to consider the possibility of restoring direct air traffic."

A U.S. State Department statement on Thursday said the talks had covered issues such as embassy staffing levels, visas and diplomatic banking. It did not mention air links.

Washington said the two sides had identified specific initial steps to "stabilise" the operations of diplomatic missions.

Both sides said they had agreed to meet again.