Russia has named career diplomat Alexander Darchiev as the new ambassador to the United States, filling a role that has been vacant since last year in another sign of easing tensions.

"The American side handed over an official note of agreement on (Darchiev's) appointment," the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

Darchiev has worked in various Russian diplomatic roles since 1992, most recently as director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's North American department.

"His departure for his place of service in Washington is expected in the near future," the ministry added.

The announcement came after the two sides held fresh talks in Istanbul on Thursday aimed at resolving diplomatic issues, after both sides expelled embassy staff from the other country under then-US president Joe Biden's administration.

US President Donald Trump has sought to restore ruptured ties with Moscow since taking office, reaching out to President Vladimir Putin and initiating high-level talks for the first time since Russia launched its offensive in Ukraine in 2022.

Putin withdrew his former envoy to Washington, Anatoly Antonov, last October but had not named a replacement amid abysmal bilateral relations over the Ukraine conflict.

Darchiev led Russian delegation in Istanbul talks

A former researcher specialising in North American studies and focusing on both Canada and the US, Darchiev comes from an academic background.

Darchiev graduated from the Faculty of History at Lomonosov Moscow State University in 1983. From 1983 to 1992, he was a postgraduate student, junior researcher, and researcher at the Institute of the USA and Canada of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

In 1987, he defended his PhD thesis titled "Left-Liberal Forces in the Socio-Political Life of the United States in the 1970s and 1980s."

Fluent in English and French, Darchiev has been serving in the diplomatic corps since 1992.

A significant part of his career, some 10 years, was spent in the US and Canada, where he held various positions, including adviser and minister-counselor at the Russian Embassy.

From October 24, 2014, to January 11, 2021, he served as Russia's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Canada.

He then returned to Moscow to assume the role of director of the North Atlantic Department, where he served until his recent appointment.