The Istanbul trap

The category: World Capitals.
The clue: Ending in the same 2 letters, these 2 are capitals of a nation that covers a continent & a nation reaching onto 2 continents.

Immediately I think of Canberra. Then Istanbul, for the iconic country in two continents. And then no, so what country... oh, no, wait, not Istanbul, Ankara. And I had more than 15 seconds left.

The contestants? One Moscow & blank. One Istanbul & blank. And one just blank.

Australia completely eluded them, but that had to be the one country. Had to be. And the RA saved me from the Istanbul trap.