Russia and the United States held 'secret talks'

Representatives of Russia and the United States have held at least two "secret meetings" on the issue of resolving the issue of de-escalation in Syria, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing its own sources.

According to the newspaper's sources, the meetings were held in Jordan, with representatives of Jordanian authorities attending.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson visited the country shortly after those meetings were held. Another meeting was scheduled for this week in Amman, but was canceled due to difficulties in agreeing a date, the newspaper said.

According to sources, further negotiations are threatened by the growing tension between the US and Syria. At the same time, they stressed that the United States hopes to find a way to cooperate with the Russian Federation and destroy the terrorist group "Islamic State" (IS, banned in Russia).

If the de-escalation zone proves effective, the US and Russia could agree on establishing such zones in other regions, Wall Street Journal sources stressed.

According to Sputnik