Turkey's foreign minister will reiterate at Sunday's meeting of European leaders in London an offer from Ankara to host peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, a Turkish diplomatic source said on Saturday.

The US and Russia started talks in Istanbul to restore diplomatic staff in each other’s countries, Russian state news service Tass reported, a step by President Donald Trump to ease years of strained ties.

But exactly how he’d do so is a bit of a mystery. “I would advocate for bold recruitment and retention reforms, cutting bureaucratic red tape and improving quality of life initiatives to attract and retain top talent,

Turkey, with NATO's second-largest army and a Black Sea coastline, is looking to play a key role in Europe's security after Washington's pivot away from the region.

Russian and U.S. teams held six hours of talks in Turkey on Thursday to try to restore normal functioning of their embassies, and Vladimir Putin said initial contacts with Donald Trump's new administration had inspired hope.

Following the U.S.-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia and Turkey, the Kremlin sent new instructions to state-run media to cover developments between Moscow and Washington in a positive tone, but instead of praising U.

Diplomats from Russia and the United States will meet on February 27 in Istanbul to discuss disputes over their respective diplomatic missions as the two sides continue a bilateral dialogue seen as crucial to ending the Ukraine war.

Israel is lobbying the United States to keep Syria weak and decentralised, including by letting Russia keep its military bases there to counter Turkey's growing influence in the country, four sources familiar with the efforts said.

Russian and U.S. diplomats will meet in Istanbul on Thursday for talks aimed at restoring their respective diplomatic missions, seen as a step towards ending the war in Ukraine, both sides said on Wednesday.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that delegations from Russia and the US will meet in Istanbul on Thursday to discuss restoring the functioning of their embassies.

Turkey said on Monday it was ready to host possible talks between Ukraine and Russia and would support any initiative leading to peace, following a visit to Ankara by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.