Beijing - Saba:
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko stated on Monday that Moscow hopes for more tangible results from a new round of talks with Ukraine in Istanbul.
Speaking to Sputnik on the sidelines of the "Russia-China: Cooperation in the New Era" conference, Rudenko said, "We expressed to our friends in Beijing our hope that the next round of talks with Ukraine in Istanbul—if the Ukrainian side participates and agrees to attend—will yield more specific and clear agreements and more tangible results."
The Russian Foreign Ministry reported on Sunday that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his US counterpart Marco Rubio discussed plans to resume direct Russian-Ukrainian talks in Istanbul on June 2.
The ministry explained: "Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. They discussed the situation related to the crisis in Ukraine."
According to a statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry, "Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed initiatives for a political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, including plans to resume direct Russian-Ukrainian talks in Istanbul on June 2."
The ministry added: "US Secretary of State Rubio expressed his deepest condolences for the victims of the bombing of railway infrastructure in the Bryansk and Kursk counties on June 1."