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,

On the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has once again offered to organize negotiations aimed at resolving the conflict. Turkey, a NATO country with ties to both Ukraine and Russia,

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

Russian and U.S. diplomats will meet in Istanbul on Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, for talks on resolving bilateral disputes that form part of a wider dialogue they see as crucial to ending the Ukraine war.