Elizabeth Roode, the US Charge d’Affaires in Moscow, spoke about the negotiations between CIA director William Burns and SVR director Sergei Naryshkin. She announced this in a conversation with RIA Novosti she.
“The United States and the Russian Federation have channels to manage risks, particularly nuclear risks, and that was the purpose of CIA Director Burns’ meeting with his Russian counterpart,” he said.
At the same time, Rud stressed that Burns and Naryshkin did not discuss the possible end of hostilities in Ukraine.
“Mr. Burns did not conduct any negotiations and did not discuss the resolution of the conflict in Ukraine,” the diplomat said.
Rud noted that if necessary, Moscow and Washington could again use “this channel of communication” – a personal contact between the heads of the two intelligence agencies – to discuss nuclear security issues. However, “so far, nothing has been planned as far as he knows.”
According to a Kommersant newspaper source, delegations from the CIA and the Foreign Intelligence Agency met in Ankara on 14 November. According to Reuters, the topic of negotiations between Naryshkin and Burns was the consequences of the possible use of nuclear weapons by the Russian side during the Ukrainian conflict.
According to the news of the Turkish NTV channel based on sources, the meeting was held at the headquarters of the Turkish National Intelligence Organization.
The Kremlin did not comment on the content of the talks. White House National Security Council strategic communications coordinator John Kirby said Naryshkin and Burns discussed “strategic stability.”
In a phone call with Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressed that contacts between Russian and US intelligence heads “play a key role in preventing an uncontrolled escalation.”
Also on November 14, a CNN source at the US National Security Council said the American side had discussed “nuclear and other risk management issues” with the Russian.
Also, according to the source, CIA Director Burns was supposed to discuss the cases of Americans Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan, who were convicted and imprisoned in Russia.
The publication states that Washington informed Kiev about negotiations with Moscow, because it “strictly adhered to the fundamental principle: without Ukraine there is nothing about Ukraine.”
A CNN source pointed out that the talks were part of the US effort to keep communication channels open with Moscow over allegations that “Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine.”
The representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, reported in September the possibility of Russian-American face-to-face negotiations. She noted that the parties are exploring the possibility of consulting on the Treaty on the Limitation of Strategic Assault Weapons (START or START-3) she said. According to him, Russia has complaints about how the United States is fulfilling its obligations under the treaty.
Greiner and Whelan
US Charge d’Affaires Elizabeth Rood in Moscow added that US authorities continue to discuss the release of basketball player Brittney Griner and former sailor Paul Whelan, who were arrested in the Russian Federation, with their Russian counterparts through private channels.
“The United States has made a serious offer. We finalized this proposal and presented alternatives. “Unfortunately, the Russian Federation has not yet received a serious response to these proposals,” he said. He added that the US authorities are waiting for constructive response proposals from the Russian Federation.
On March 5, Greiner was detained while passing through customs, a service dog reacted to the athlete’s possessions in vape cartridges containing poppy oil, which is banned in Russia.
Greiner was sentenced to nine years in prison and a fine of 1 million rubles. It has been reported that the American may have been part of a prisoner exchange between Russia and the United States.
US citizen Paul Whelan worked as a safety manager at auto parts company BorgWarner. Among his responsibilities were security checks in the company’s divisions. According to the investigation, Whelan, a career intelligence officer, collected classified information in Russia and tried to recruit employees of the FSB and the Ministry of Defense.
On December 28, 2018, in Moscow, Whelan was detained in a room at the Metropol Hotel, where he received a flash card containing, among other things, a list of secret persons, which included members of the local special services. Some time after Whelan retrieved the flash drive, FSB officers entered his room, confiscated the media, and personally detained the American.
The FSB Investigative Department opened a criminal case against the American under Article 276 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Espiation”) and was threatened with imprisonment of up to 20 years. The American side considers Whelan’s detention, arrest and trial illegal.
On November 3, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the US leadership had offered Russia “alternative ways forward” on the prisoner exchange.
According to him, the US government made a “substantial proposal” to resolve the situation with US citizens Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan, who had been convicted in the Russian Federation. He also stated that there were no “benevolent negotiations” on behalf of Russia.