U.S. and Russian Spy Chiefs Meet in Turkey for Face-to-Face Talks About Ukraine War

US and Russian spy chiefs traveled to Turkey’s capital for a delicate meeting amid increasing fears that Russia may be readying to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

CIA Director William Burns warned his Russian counterpart Sergey Naryshkin against using tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine, a White House official noted.

Burns was to deliver a message to his Russian counterpart, “on the consequences of the use of nuclear weapons by Russia, and the risks of escalation to strategic stability,” the official, who spoke to Reuters, added.

While the Kremlin said it could neither confirm nor deny the meeting, Russia’s Kommersant newspaper reported that a Russian delegation headed by Naryshkin, the head of Russia’s foreign intelligence agency, traveled to Turkey.

The meeting was hosted by Turkey’s National Intelligence Agency (MIT), the Turkish press reported.

The talks came as fears are increasing over Russia’s potential use of tactical nuclear weapons in the face of heavy losses to Ukrainian forces, particularly​​ to the west of the Dnieper River. 

The US press reported in early November on discussions between senior Russian officials over the possible use of tactical nuclear weapons in the war. 

The Ukrainian army’s recapture of the Ukrainian city of Kherson this week marked a landmark triumph by the Ukrainian army in some nine months of war. 

The White House official stressed that Burns’ talks with his Russian counterpart were not negotiations over the war in Ukraine.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hailed the meeting as “very positive” and an “extremely relevant development in relation to the future.”

“The UN is not involved. I think it is very positive that the U.S. and Russia have talks because that is an extremely relevant development,” Guterres told journalists.