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.

Vladimir Putin has described initial contacts with the Trump administration as “inspiring a certain degree of hope”, his most positive remarks since US-Russia talks began on ending the war in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told the FSB security service on Thursday that initial contacts with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump gave grounds for hope. Putin said in televised comments that Russia and the United States were ready to establish cooperation but some Western elites would seek to undermine the dialogue between them.