First high-level, direct US-Russia contact known since Russia invaded Ukraine in February – “Dialogue continues, but not systematic,” says Russia’s deputy foreign minister
US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director William Burns and President Vladimir Putin’s top spy discussed a “sensitive” issue during their meeting this week in Turkey, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said today.
Burns drew attention to Sergei Naryskin, the head of Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service, about the consequences of the possible use of nuclear weapons and the risks to strategic stability, according to the US side.
It was the first high-level, direct U.S.-Russia contact to be known since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. Burns, a former US ambassador to Russia, was sent to Moscow in late 2021 by President Joe Biden to draw attention to Putin about Moscow’s troop buildup around Ukraine.
“The contact (between Burns and Naryskin) was initiated by the American side,” Ryabkov told RTV1. “The matters discussed there were of a sensitive nature.”
“The dialogue continues, but it is not systematic in nature,” he said. “But we are not standing with our hats in our hands: Americans need dialogue with us just as much as we need them.”
Ryabkov said another contact with the United States will take place later this month, when a bilateral advisory committee on the New START arms treaty convenes on November 29 in Cairo.
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