Nabiullina unaware of negotiations on lifting financial sanctions on Russia, Central Bank not involved

YEKATERINBURG. Feb 20 (Interfax) - Governor of the Central Bank of Russia Elvira Nabiullina is unaware of any negotiations on lifting financial sanctions on Russia or unfreezing gold and foreign exchange reserves, and the Central Bank is not involved in such discussions.

"The Central Bank does not participate in such negotiations; I have no knowledge of this," Nabiullina said in response to a question about whether talks are currently underway on lifting financial sanctions on Russia and unfreezing reserves at a press conference in Yekaterinburg.

Bilateral cooperation in the financial sector was discussed during a recent visit to the United Arab Emirates, she said.

Nabiullina also reiterated that it is still premature to factor in a settlement of the situation in Ukraine in the Central Bank's basic forecast.

"We recently updated our forecast for the next three years. We revise our forecasts four times a year, depending on emerging information and what can be incorporated into our basic projection. At this stage, we consider it premature to account for possible consequences of a resolution [of the conflict with Ukraine] in the basic forecast. We will monitor how the situation develops," Nabiullina said.