By Dmitry Antonov and Simon Lewis (Reuters) -Russian and U.S. diplomats will meet in Istanbul on Thursday for talks aimed at restoring their respective diplomatic missions, seen as a step towards ending the war in Ukraine,

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that delegations from Russia and the US will meet in Istanbul on Thursday to discuss restoring the functioning of their embassies.

Russia peace talks, the top Russian diplomat paid a visit to Turkey less than a week after the Ukrainian president's trip to Ankara.

Turkey said on Monday it was ready to host possible talks between Ukraine and Russia and would support any initiative leading to peace, following a visit to Ankara by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Erdogan says Ankara fully supports Ukraine's territorial integrity and is ready to contribute for peace as Washington excludes Kyiv in talks with Russia

By Jonathan Spicer and Mark Trevelyan ISTANBUL (Reuters) -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.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov plans to visit Turkey next week as part of his regional tour, sources familiar with the matter told Middle East Eye. Lavrov is expected to be in Ankara on 24-25 February, according to one of the sources.

Russian and U.S. diplomats met in Turkey on Thursday for talks to resolve disputes over the work of their respective embassies in Washington and Moscow, a first test of their ability to reset wider relations and work towards ending the war in Ukraine.