LONDON/WASHINGTON - United States Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns is in Turkey to speak to Russia’s foreign spy chief to deliver a message about the consequences of a potential Russian use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine, a White House official said.
The US-Russian contact in Turkey was first reported by Russia’s Kommersant newspaper. It cited an unidentified source as saying that Mr Sergei Naryshkin, head of Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service, would attend the talks.
The White House official said Mr Burns, a former US ambassador to Russia, was not conducting negotiations of any kind with Mr Naryshkin.
Ukraine was briefed in advance about Mr Burns’ trip to Turkey, the official said. Mr Burns is not discussing a settlement of the war in Ukraine, but is conveying a message on the consequences of the use of nuclear weapons by Russia, the official added.
Mr Burns met with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in 2021 at the behest of President Joe Biden in an attempt to convey Washington’s concerns about a build-up of Russian troops around Ukraine.
The Kremlin, asked about the Kommersant report, said it could neither confirm nor deny it. The SVR did not respond to a request for comment.
Beyond the war, Russia and the US have a host of outstanding issues to discuss, ranging from the extension of a key nuclear arms reduction treaty and a Black Sea grain deal to a possible US-Russian prisoner swap and the Syrian civil war. REUTERS