(Reuters) – Russian and U.S. officials are holding talks in the Turkish capital Ankara, the Russian newspaper Kommersant reported on Monday, citing a source, amid continued high tensions between Moscow and Washington over the war in Ukraine.
A Turkish official declined to comment on whether talks were taking place, while the Kremlin said it could neither confirm nor deny the report.
Kommersant did not provide details on the purpose of the talks, but said the meeting had not been publicly announced beforehand. Sergei Naryshkin, head of Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence agency, is reportedly part of Russia’s delegation, it said.
The report comes as Ukraine celebrates the recapture of its southern city of Kherson, the biggest prize yet won by its forces, after Russian troops withdrew from the area.
Turkey has often presented itself as an arbiter between Moscow and the West since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It helped broker an agreement between Russia and Ukraine on exporting grain from blockaded Black Sea ports in July.
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Gareth Jones)
