Negotiations between the Russian and American delegations are taking place in Ankara, the capital of Turkey. Sergey Naryshkin, director of the Foreign Intelligence Service, arrived from the Russian side. The American delegation is led by CIA Director William Burns.
A White House source confirmed to Reuters that talks were indeed taking place, but added that the settlement of the war in Ukraine would not be discussed during the meeting. The source also said that Burns will raise the issue of the Americans detained and arrested in Russia.
Earlier, Kommersant reported on the planned talks between Naryshkin and Burns, noting that the last time the Russian and American delegations met in Geneva was on January 10 to negotiate security guarantees.
Press Secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov said that he could neither confirm nor deny the information about the talks in Ankara.