“Such talks have actually taken place,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state news agency Tass on Monday.
The US television channel CNN, the “New York Times” and other US media, citing a US government spokesman, all reported that Burns had warned Russia against the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine. He is also said to have raised cases of US citizens who were wrongly detained in Russia.
The New York Times wrote that the meeting was not about negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. Ukraine was informed in advance about Burns’ trip. The Russian business newspaper Kommersant had previously reported on the meeting in Ankara, citing an undisclosed source.
The last officially confirmed meeting between a US and Russian delegation was in mid-January, before Russia invaded Ukraine. At that time, both sides discussed the security guarantees demanded by Moscow. In early November, the US newspaper Washington Post reported that the United States had asked Ukraine to indicate its willingness to negotiate with Russia. However, this has not been officially confirmed. On Thursday, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the US government is not pressuring Ukraine for possible negotiations with Russia.
Kiev demands, among other things, the withdrawal of all Russian troops from its territory and compensation for the damage caused by the war.
(SDA)