Russia: Istanbul is a comfortable place to meet with the US.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin said Istanbul is a “comfortable place” for talks with the United States.

Vershinin added that he does not believe the United States will take a constructive approach in talks with Russia, according to the Russian news agency RIA Novosti.

Vershinin had arrived in Istanbul last week as part of political consultations between Turkey and Russia.

The director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergey Narishkin, and the director of the CIA, Bill Burns, met in Ankara last month, organized by MIT. Russian and US representatives also discussed a number of “challenging issues” in Istanbul last week, including visas, the number of employees at embassies, and the activities of institutions and organizations.