William Burns’s talks with Russia’s foreign intelligence chief are the most senior in-person meetings since the start of the war in Ukraine.
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William J. Burns, the C.I.A. director, held a face-to-face meeting with his Russian counterpart after a period of rising tensions over nuclear issues.
WASHINGTON — The head of the Central Intelligence Agency warned his Russian counterpart against using nuclear weapons in a face-to-face meeting on Monday in Turkey, White House officials announced, part of the Biden administration’s effort to reduce the threat of escalation in the war in Ukraine.
The talks, led by William J. Burns, the director of the C.I.A., were the highest-level in-person meetings between senior Russian and American officials since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February. The discussions are part of the Biden administration’s efforts to step up its communications with senior Russian officials to convey concerns on the nuclear threat.
Mr. Burns’s meeting was not an attempt to negotiate with Russia over the end of the war — American officials have repeatedly insisted no peace talks will be conducted without the involvement of Ukraine’s government. The discussions, instead, were almost entirely focused on the threat of nuclear escalation, these officials said.
The talks between Mr. Burns and Sergei Naryshkin, the director of Russia’s foreign intelligence service, were conducted at the behest of the Americans. They were scheduled after a period of rising tensions over nuclear issues.
American and European leaders see their goal for now as keeping the war contained to Ukraine and preventing President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia from using a tactical nuclear weapon or another weapon of mass destruction.
Mr. Putin has denied that Moscow was preparing to use a nuclear weapon in Ukraine. Those comments lowered the level of concern both in Washington and in European capitals, but repeated nuclear threats by Russia, and its repeated battlefield setbacks, mean worry over potential nuclear use remains high.
Intelligence about conversations between Russian generals over the use of nuclear weapons circulated in the U.S. government in mid-October. Those reports raised concerns in part because they arrived around the time that Russia began accusing Ukraine of plans to use a dirty bomb, an explosive device that spreads radioactive material over an area. Some U.S. officials thought the allegations could be aimed at creating a pretext to use a nuclear weapon.
The State of the War
- Retaking Kherson: On Nov. 11, Ukrainian soldiers swept into the southern city of Kherson, which Russian forces had occupied for more than eight months, seizing a major symbolic and strategic prize and dealing a bitter blow to Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin.
- What’s Next?: Cheering crowds greeted Ukrainian forces as they entered Kherson, but analysts agree that the war is far from over. Here’s a look at what might lie ahead.
- Winter Looms: Many analysts and diplomats have suggested there could be a pause in major combat over the winter. But after pushing the Russians out of Kherson, Ukraine has no desire to stop.
- Peace Talks: While Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has made the case that the Ukrainians should try to cement their gains at the bargaining table, some U.S. officials say that peace talks remain a distant prospect.
Since Russia’s invasion, American officials have emphasized their goal of supporting the Ukrainians while ensuring that the war does not escalate and potentially provoke a wider nuclear conflict.
Lloyd J. Austin III, the defense secretary, had two phone conversations with Sergei K. Shoigu, Russia’s defense minister, about nuclear tensions in October. Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, has also held calls with his counterpart, Nikolai Patrushev, about nuclear issues in recent months. And now Mr. Burns has traveled to Turkey to deliver another message.
A White House spokesman disclosed Mr. Burns’s trip after Kommersant, a Russian business daily newspaper, reported on Monday that the Russian delegation in Ankara was led by Mr. Naryshkin.
The Kremlin’s spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, later confirmed to Tass, a Russian state news service, that a meeting had taken place but did not offer details. A C.I.A. spokeswoman declined to comment; the agency never comments on the director’s travel.
A spokesman for the White House’s National Security Council said the Ukrainian government was briefed in advance on the trip. President Biden has insisted that Ukraine, and not the United States, will dictate if and when negotiations commence to end the war.
Russian and Ukrainian officials have made separate public comments in recent weeks about potential peace negotiations, more than six months after their last known direct talks fell apart.
Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has argued that Ukraine should negotiate with Russia to cement its recent gains. Other senior American officials do not believe either Russia or Ukraine is ready to engage in meaningful negotiations.
In a post on the messaging app Telegram on Monday, Gen. Valeriy Zaluzhny, the commander of the Ukrainian military, said he had spoken to General Milley and reiterated the country’s position on possible negotiations: Russia must withdraw before any talks are possible.
“The Ukrainian military will not accept any negotiations, agreements or compromise decisions,” he wrote.
While Russia is losing, Mr. Putin does not believe his forces will ultimately be defeated and he will not make major concessions or give up land he has taken, according to American officials. Ukraine’s government believes it is winning, and thinks next year it can retake land the Russian Army has seized.
The White House spokesman also said Mr. Burns planned to raise in his meeting the matter of Americans detained in Russia. The Biden administration has been trying to negotiate a prisoner swap with Russia to bring home the W.N.B.A. star Brittney Griner and Paul N. Whelan, who is imprisoned on espionage charges.
Ms. Griner has been detained in Russia since February after she flew to an airport near Moscow with a small amount of hashish oil in her luggage. She was sentenced in August to nine years in prison.
In August, American and Russian officials said they would use a special channel set up by Mr. Biden and Mr. Putin at their meeting in Geneva last year to negotiate over Ms. Griner and Mr. Whelan. U.S. officials have declined to divulge details of that channel. The Biden administration has offered to release Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer imprisoned in the United States, for the freedom of the two Americans.
But talks over Ms. Griner’s and Mr. Whelan’s release have been at an impasse, and U.S. officials said they did not expect any breakthrough as a result of Mr. Burns’s trip, the focus of which is averting any potential for nuclear confrontation or escalation.
Mr. Burns’s meeting also came as the United States announced new sanctions against Russian oligarchs linked to the Kremlin. In all, 14 people, 28 entities and eight aircraft were blocked, the Treasury Department said, part of an effort to disrupt supply chains and make it more difficult for Russia to resupply its military.
In addition to serving as the C.I.A. director, Mr. Burns has been repeatedly tasked by Mr. Biden to conduct delicate negotiations with the Russians.
Before Mr. Putin ordered the full-scale invasion in February, Mr. Burns — who was also a former U.S. ambassador to Russia — flew to Moscow in last November to tell Russian officials that the United States knew of Moscow’s plans and would forcefully respond to any incursion. Mr. Burns spoke by video to Mr. Putin, who was in Sochi at the time.
Ivan Nechepurenko contributed reporting.
Source: nytimes.com
