CIA chief William Burns is meeting with his Russian counterpart in Ankara, Turkey today to warn him about the consequences of the use of nuclear weapons, which Russia has threatened in Ukraine, the White House announced today.
Burns is to convey a warning to his Russian counterpart, Sergei Naryshkin, about "the consequences of Russia's use of nuclear weapons and the risk of escalation to strategic stability," a White House National Security Council spokesman said.
For now, it cannot be determined whether the meeting has already taken place. Burns is "not conducting any negotiations" or "discussing a solution to the war in Ukraine," the same source said, adding that the Ukrainians were informed in advance of the meeting. The senior US official will instead discuss with his counterpart the cases of US citizens "unjustly" imprisoned in Russia.
Basketball player Britney Greiner, sentenced to nine years in prison in Russia for "drug trafficking" and another American, ex-soldier Paul Whelan, are in prison in Russia.
US President Joseph Biden said on Wednesday that he hoped Russian President Vladimir Putin would be willing to discuss a prisoner exchange with the US, as has happened in the past between the Russians and the Americans.
The meeting between Burns and Naryshkin is one of the first meetings at such a high level since the beginning of the Russian offensive in Ukraine on February 24.
However, the US and Russia have constantly maintained "channels of communication", for example through the US Embassy in Moscow, on bilateral issues, or to convey messages about Ukraine.
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