CIA Director Warns Russia Not to Use Nuclear Weapons in Ukraine

US Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns will speak to the head of Russia’s foreign intelligence agency to deliver a message about the consequences of a possible Russian use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine, according to a White House official. I am visiting Turkey for

The Russian-American contact in Turkey was first reported by the Russian newspaper Kommersant. It cited an anonymous source who said the head of Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service, Sergei Naryshkin, would attend the talks.

A White House official said former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Byrnes did not engage in negotiations of any kind with Naryshkin.

Ukraine had been briefed on Burns’ visit to Turkey in advance, the official said. Byrnes is not discussing a resolution to the war in Ukraine, but conveying the message about the consequences of Russia’s use of nuclear weapons, the official added.

Byrnes has attempted to meet with Russian leader Vladimir Putin at the request of President Joe Biden in 2021 to convey Washington’s concerns over the build-up of Russian forces around Ukraine.

Asked about the Kommersant report, the Kremlin said it could neither confirm nor deny it. SVR did not respond to a request for comment.

Beyond war, Russia and the United States have many unresolved issues to discuss, ranging from the extension of a crucial nuclear arms reduction treaty and the Black Sea grain deal to the exchange of prisoners of war between the United States and Russia and the possibility of a civil war in Syria. There is