- On 14 November, CIA Director Bill Burns had met with his Russian intelligence counterpart to warn of consequences if Russia were to deploy a nuclear weapon in Ukraine
The Kremlin on Thursday confirmed that no Russian officials were considering the use of nuclear weapons, according to a report by Reuters. Earlier, US Central Intellegence Agency (CIA) had cautioned Sergei Naryshkin, head of Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service about the consequences had Russia decided on using nuclear weapons.
On Monday, 14 November, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov had informed a Russian news agency that CIA Director Bill Burns had indeed met with his Russian intelligence counterpart Sergei Naryshkin to warn the latter of the consequences of using a nuke. The meeting according to reports took place at Turkish capital Ankara.
It was the first known high-level, face-to-face US-Russian contact since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. The official had said that Ukrainian officials were briefed ahead of Burns’ travel to Turkey.
“He is conveying a message on the consequences of the use of nuclear weapons by Russia, and the risks of escalation to strategic stability … He will also raise the cases of unjustly detained US citizens. He is not conducting negotiations of any kind. He is not discussing settlement of the war in Ukraine,” Reuters quoted the spokesperson said.
Turkey earlier this year hosted Ukrainian and Russian officials for talks and played a key role in a UN-brokered deal that allowed Ukraine to resume exporting grain to world markets.
The meeting between the spy chiefs came as the U.S. Treasury Department on Monday announced an expanded list of sanctions on 14 people and 28 entities involved in supporting the Russian military-industrial complex. Many of those hit with new sanctions are located outside of Russia, including people and firms based in Switzerland, Taiwan and France.
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