Russia’s Foreign Ministry says it has suggested restoring direct air links between Russia and the United States during the latest round of consultations with Washington.

The Russian Foreign Ministry praised the latest round of talks with the United States in a statement on Friday, calling them "substantive and businesslike." Russian and U.S. teams held six hours of talks in Turkey on Thursday to try to restore the normal functioning of their embassies,

As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to Washington to sign a dictated agreement that only "partially" includes security guarantees for Ukraine, Donald Trump shut the door on Kyiv’s NATO aspirations.

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.