Moscow [Russia], February 19: The U.S. and Russia agreed on Tuesday to restore the normal functioning of each other's diplomatic missions, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said after talks between senior U.S. and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia.
The move appeared to signal a significant easing of restrictions on Russian diplomatic missions in the United States that were imposed by past U.S. administrations over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and other Russian actions.
The Riyadh talks were aimed as a step toward ending Russia's war in Ukraine after President Donald Trump, who took office last month, ordered top officials to begin negotiations.
Rubio said the sides agreed as a first step to appoint teams of officials to "work very quickly to re-establish the functionality of our respective missions."
The two countries 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.
Rubio said those moves had "really diminished our ability to operate in Moscow" and that Russia would say the same about its mission in Washington.
Source: Fijian Broadcasting Corporation
