MOSCOW - Russia-US talks on Ukraine are unlikely to begin before the full restoration of diplomatic missions in both countries, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted by RIA Novosti as saying on Tuesday.

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US and Russian delegations met in Istanbul on Feb 27 to discuss issues affecting the operations of their respective diplomatic missions in Moscow and Washington.

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the discussions included the status of Russian diplomatic properties in the United States, particularly the return of six properties that were "illegally seized" between 2016 and 2018.