In a rare face-to-face meeting, US and Russian intelligence chiefs met in Turkey on Monday, with Washington repeating its warning to Moscow against using nuclear weapons in the war in Ukraine and raising questions about the fate of its citizens held in Russia. AFP reports.
William Burns, the head of the CIA and former US ambassador to Moscow, is said to have sent a message to his Russian counterpart, Sergei Naryshkikin, warning him “about the consequences of Russia’s use of nuclear weapons and the risks of escalating strategic stability.” spokesman for the White House National Security Council.
Burns “does not hold any negotiations” and “does not discuss the settlement of the war in Ukraine,” the same source said, adding that the Ukrainians were informed of the meeting in advance.
The White House also said it would discuss with its Russian counterpart the case of US citizens “wrongfully” detained in Russia, in particular, referring to basketball champion Brittney Griner and former soldier Paul Whelan.
“We confirm that Russian-American negotiations are taking place in Ankara today,” Russian news agencies quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying, stressing that this was “an initiative of the American side.”
He refused to give details of the content of the negotiations.
The Presidency of Turkey confirmed that “Turkey today organized a meeting between the heads of US and Russian intelligence.”
The meeting in Ankara comes at a key moment in Russia’s war against Ukraine, after Russian troops withdrew from the city of Kherson last week.
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