WASHINGTON, December 9. /TASS/. A senior US State Department official and Russian counterparts are discussing a narrow range of bilateral issues in Istanbul on Friday, a State Department spokesperson told TASS on Friday.

"We can confirm that a senior State Department official is in Istanbul to hold a meeting with Russian counterparts on a narrow range of bilateral issues. As a rule, we don’t comment on private diplomatic talks," the diplomat said.

He declined to disclose any specific issues under discussion and what is stopping the US from fully resuming issuance of US visas to Russians.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said earlier that the heads of certain Russian and US departments held a meeting in Istanbul on Friday to discuss "irritants" in bilateral relations. He said the talks aren’t a signal that Russia and the US are resuming dialogue on major issues.