RT News - January 17th 2023 Late

Soledar: RT joins Russian Wagner group troops as they assault the final Ukrainian position on the outskirts of Soledar, recently taken after weeks of heavy fighting. There were quite a number of foreign mercenaries, some of whom have been taken as POWs. Warning, some really gruesome images/footage. Murad Gazdiev reports
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China unblocks India's bid at the UN Security Council to place a notorious Pakistani terrorist Abdul Rehman Makki on a global blacklist. Runjun Sharma explains the significance.
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The EU pushes African states to go green, while bombarding some of them with sanctions that prevent the continent's development via fossil fuels. In the past year the E.U. and Britain have sought fossil fuels from Africa in desperate attempts to make up for the energy imports from Russia which are also sanctioned. "Sanctions which are instruments of war". In depth report from Karabo Letlhatlha.
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Ursula Von Der Leyen spoke at the Davos forum today and said the European Union sanctions will plunge Russia into decades of regression. Rachel Marsden analyses the potential impacts.
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The Croatian president has criticized NATO's ongoing support for Kiev, calling it Washington's proxy war against Russia. Hungary's Viktor Orban says it's Europe who will bear the brunt of the sanctions and anti-Russian policies, not USA.
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Britain's defence minister Ben Wallace says tanks are not offensive when they are used for defensive actions (QS: is that like the himars which bomb Donbass almost every day, killing and injuring civilians and destroying civilian only areas?) He is trying to persuade Germany to send more tanks but Germany has said their tanks are in pieces (QS was this an excuse?). He tweeted this today (QS the replies say it all - I don't think I've ever seen such an unpopular tweet https://twitter.com/DefenceHQ/status/1615031139063693334). RT's Nikki Aaron and Scott Ritter discuss.
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The tennis star Novak Djokovic is allowed to play at the Australian Open despite being un-vaccinated.
https://twitter.com/AustralianOpen/status/1615344421243092992
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RT explores how Covid-19 restrictions have changed around the globe. "Are we being told the truth about the COVID19 vaccine?" In depth report from Steve Sweeny.
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The latest twitter files has shown that big-pharma deliberately censored even factual tweets about COVID19 vaccines in order to keep their products "in a good light" despite the vaccines having been released with little testing. Dr. Robert Malone (inventor of the mRNA injections) says big pharma defends it's profits at the expense of the citizens. Professionals have been blocked and there is a lot more to this story than we have seen so far.

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A) --- Kremlin explains boost in army strength
1) --- ex-Russian president blasts Davos forum
2) --- Putin allows sanctioned Russian firms to disregard shareholders from ‘unfriendly’ states
3) --- Russia’s top spy explains why Ukrainian crisis remains deadlocked
4) --- Far-right group on trial over Macron assassination plot
5) --- EU sanctions goal is to crush Russian economy – Von der Leyen
6) --- Hundreds of British police officers suspected of sex offenses – Scotland Yard
7) --- Why the West's new anti-Russia sanctions are a dangerous game changer, Ivan Timofeev
8) --- Türkiye labels NATO applicant a ‘terrorist propaganda centre’
9) ---New meeting with CIA’s Burns ‘possible’ – Russian spy chief
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17 Jan, 2023 13:14

A) --- Kremlin explains boost in army strength

Russia's Armed Forces need 1.5 million troops because the West is waging a proxy war against the country, a spokesman said

Russian plans to boost its standing army to some 1.5 million troops are necessary for its safety, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said, accusing the US and its allies of waging a proxy war against Moscow. The target strength was proposed by the Defense Ministry in December.

“The proxy war includes elements of indirect participation in military action, elements of economic war, financial war, lawfare,” Peskov explained to journalists on Tuesday. He added that it was the Defense Ministry’s duty to ensure the safety of Russia. The particular tools for achieving the proposed goal are still being worked on, Peskov stated.

Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu suggested increasing the number of Russian troops in active military service to 1.5 million during a ministerial meeting on December 21, which was attended by President Vladimir Putin. He said career soldiers and officers serving under a contract should comprise roughly 695,000 of the number, with the rest enrolled through conscription.

During a Defense Ministry meeting on Tuesday, Shoigu said the increase and certain other military changes are planned to take place between 2023 and 2026. The measures are needed “to ensure the military security of the nation, defend the [formerly Ukrainian] new [federal] subjects and critical objects of the Russian Federation,” the minister said.

The Moscow and Leningrad military districts, which existed in the structure of the armed forces until 2010, are set to return as part of the move. At the moment, there are five military districts in the country, Western, Southern, Central, Eastern and the Northern Fleet.

Meanwhile, at a separate event, Putin welcomed the increase in military production that Russia managed to achieve last year. Defense contractors “have switched into high gear and continue to increase production capacity,” the president noted, adding that some manufacturers are working “virtually all day long.”
https://www.rt.com/russia/570005-russian-standing-army-boost/
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17 Jan, 2023 16:03

1) --- ex-Russian president blasts Davos forum

Dmitry Medvedev says it’s “good” that Russian businessmen are skipping the event as it’s not about economics anymore

Discussions about the supply of tanks to Ukraine at the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland are a “disgrace,” former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has said.

Earlier on Tuesday, Polish President Andrzej Duda used a WEF panel to call on Western nations to organize “bigger support” for Kiev amid its conflict with Russia. “We hope a few partners, allies, will give tanks to Ukraine,” he said.

Duda was backed by his Lithuanian counterpart, Gitanas Nauseda, who said he “strongly believes” Germany would provide Ukraine with Leopard tanks, despite Berlin not having made any decision on the issue yet.

“What a disgrace, to say the least… The Davos forum is discussing… the delivery of tanks to Ukraine,” Medvedev wrote on Telegram on Tuesday.

“Previously, in Davos, they discussed other things, like the economy and stuff,” he pointed out, adding it was “good” that Russian companies were skipping the event this year.

By pushing for a so-called “tank coalition,” Duda might actually be “hoping to bring forth the division of Ukraine, which is long-awaited” in Warsaw, suggested the ex-president, who now serves as the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council.

“But in this case one shouldn’t create a coalition, but instead draw up a collective document about the surrender of the rotten Kiev regime in order to save people; and about the future configuration of what will remain of Ukraine,” he wrote.

Earlier this week, the UK announced that it would deliver 14 Challenger 2 main battle tanks. Poland and Finland have also said they are ready to supply Ukraine with German-made Leopard 2 tanks from their own stocks. However, the move would require Berlin’s permission, which so far hasn’t been granted.

Moscow has long decried the supply of weapons to Kiev by its Western backers, saying these only prolong the fighting and increase the risk of a direct confrontation between Russia and NATO.

Commenting on the possible delivery of Leopards and British Challenger 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine, Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that “tanks can burn and they will burn like the rest [of the weapons].”
https://www.rt.com/russia/570013-medvedev-davos-duda-tanks/
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17 Jan, 2023 16:53

2) --- Putin allows sanctioned Russian firms to disregard shareholders from ‘unfriendly’ states

Corporate decisions will not require securing a vote from those individuals, under a new law

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Tuesday, allowing certain companies to disregard the votes of shareholders from so-called ‘unfriendly’ countries when making corporate decisions.

The document providing for this, published on a portal of legal information, will apply to companies in the energy, mechanical engineering and trade sectors with annual revenue of more than 100 billion rubles ($1.46 billion). It will be in force until the end of 2023.

According to the new law, the management authorities of such companies will be able to make decisions without counting the votes of shareholders from ‘unfriendly’ countries. To qualify, the companies must meet a number of criteria. One of these is that other countries or international organizations must have imposed sanctions against the owners or beneficiaries of such companies. Another criterion is that foreign persons with ties to unfriendly states have interests of 50% or less in the authorized capital or shares in such companies.

In case nationals from unfriendly states are members of a company’s management authority, other shareholders will have the right to pass a resolution without counting their votes, the document said.
https://www.rt.com/business/570024-russia-sanctioned-companies-shareholders/
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17 Jan, 2023 14:19

3) --- Russia’s top spy explains why Ukrainian crisis remains deadlocked

Kiev’s Western “masters” are to blame, Sergey Naryshkin says

Kiev is unable to engage in peace talks with Moscow because the US and its allies forbid it from doing so, Russian spy chief Sergey Naryshkin has said.

“The overseas masters of the Ukrainian regime won’t allow getting [the Ukrainian] dossier off the ground,” Naryshkin told Tass on Tuesday.

He brought up the negotiations that took place between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul in late March, when “certain basic agreements were reached.”

“However, those in Washington, those in London, told their associates in Kiev: ‘No, [there should be] no peace talks, no peace. We’ve already paid you several dozen billion. We’ve invested in you; we’ll continue to pump money and weapons, and your task is simple – go and fight’,” Naryshkin insisted.

The Ukrainian government then quickly backtracked on all the promises it had made in Istanbul, with the sudden change of mood occurring shortly after then-UK prime minister Boris Johnson visited Kiev.

Russia and Ukraine haven’t sat behind the negotiating table since then, with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky even signing a decree that officially banned him from talking to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

Zelensky is now promoting a UN-hosted international summit planned to be held in New York on February 24 – the anniversary of the launch of the Russian military operation in Ukraine. The event, in which the settlement of the conflict is going to be discussed without Moscow, is expected to focus on the 10-point “peace plan” previously outlined by Kiev, which, among other things, calls for Russia to withdraw to borders claimed by Ukraine, pay reparations and submit to war crimes tribunals.

Moscow has rejected Zelensky’s proposal, saying that it refuses to account for the reality on the ground and actually shows Kiev’s unwillingness to find a solution to the crisis. However, Putin and other Russian officials have repeatedly stated that Moscow is prepared to engage in dialogue, but on its own terms, one of which is Ukraine recognizing the status of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye as parts of Russia.

Earlier this week, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Second CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) Department, Aleksey Polishchuk, pointed out that if negotiation between the sides eventually take place, they’ll likely talk to each other directly as “Western mediators often pursue their own goals and try to influence the course of negotiations ... in their own political and economic interests.”
https://www.rt.com/russia/570012-ukraine-us-uk-naryshkin/
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17 Jan, 2023 16:50

4) --- Far-right group on trial over Macron assassination plot

The defendants allegedly conspired to commit a series of terrorist attacks, including a hit on the French president

Thirteen people said to be affiliated with the extreme right-wing group ‘Les Barjols’ (‘The Crazies’), which allegedly conspired to kill French President Emmanuel Macron, went on trial in a Paris court on Tuesday.

The defendants – 11 men and two women between the ages of 22 and 66 – have been charged with conspiring to commit a terrorist act, which carries a maximum sentence of ten years in prison. The trial is scheduled to conclude on February 3.

The court hearings come after a four year-long investigation into the group, which is said to have been plotting assorted violent acts, including attacks on mosques, killing migrants, and even the assassination of Macron at a public event commemorating the World War I armistice, according to the indictment. None of these alleged plans ever came to fruition, and some of the charges initially brought up against the suspects were dropped during the investigation.

“It is established that the projects of violent action conceived by the members of the Barjols group … were aimed exclusively at seriously disturbing public order through intimidation or terror,” the indictment read.

The ultra-right Barjols group originally emerged on Facebook back in 2017 and its alleged leader, Denis Collinet, was arrested in 2020. One of the suspects, Jean-Pierre Bouyer, who was 62 at the time, got on the radar of law enforcement after France’s domestic intelligence services received a tip-off about an allegedly looming attack on Macron.

Bouyer was arrested in November 2018 during a meeting with three close associates. A bulletproof vest and a ‘commando’-style knife were seized. During additional searches, French police officers also seized firearms and ammunition from Bouyer’s home.

While Bouyer initially admitted to the police that he had wanted to “kill Macron,” implying one of the accomplices would have stabbed the president at the event, he later said the discussions had been mere talk. “He admits that there were such discussions, but they never went any further,” Bouyer’s lawyer, Olivia Ronen, told AFP.

All in all, the legal team of the defendants maintains that the prosecution’s case was based “on the fiction that a violent act was going to happen,” according to lawyer Lucile Collot, who insists that the allegations of a real terrorist plot are “misplaced.”
https://www.rt.com/news/570021-macron-far-right-plot/
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17 Jan, 2023 15:12

5) --- EU sanctions goal is to crush Russian economy – Von der Leyen

Western penalties will cause “a decade of regression,” the European Commission president tells WEF

EU sanctions are aimed at plunging the Russian economy into a recession for years to come and depriving the country of crucial technologies, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in an address to the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos on Tuesday.

The European bloc has imposed nine rounds of sanctions against Russia since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, targeting many sectors of the economy, including energy, high-tech, aviation, banking, mining, automotive and other industries.

“We have put in place the strongest sanctions ever, which leave the Russian economy facing a decade of regression and its industry starved of any modern and critical technologies,” von der Leyen said.

The latest restrictions came into force in December and include new export controls and restrictions on dual-use goods and technology, along with products and technology that could be used in the defense and security sectors. The measures target key chemicals, nerve agents, night-vision and radio-navigation equipment, as well as electronics and IT components.

Brussels is now working on the next batch of penalties, which will reportedly target Russia’s nuclear industry and diamond trade. Other penalties which the EU is rushing to symbolically implement by February 24 include cutting more Russian banks off from the SWIFT global messaging system and banning more of the country's media outlets.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that the country’s economy is performing “much better than what not only our opponents but even we ourselves predicted” and is on course for further stabilization.
https://www.rt.com/business/570011-eu-russia-sanctions-economy/

(on the 17th January, you will recall the post I made which said which said "Russia’s gross domestic product (GDP) fell by only 2.1% in the first 11 months of last year, which is much better than projected, Pres. Putin said on Tuesday. He was opening a government meeting on economic issues, which he held via video conference. He said the decrease for the full year is expected to be 2.5%, while the actual dynamics last year were positive. He also said inflation in Russia in 2022 was 11.9%, which was also lower than forecasts, including those of the country’s central bank but that in the first quarter of this year, inflation will drop to 5%, and in the second quarter it will be less than 4%.")
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17 Jan, 2023 14:50

6) --- Hundreds of British police officers suspected of sex offenses – Scotland Yard

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley also revealed all 45,000 Met staff would be rechecked for possible missed crimes

London’s Metropolitan Police are looking into allegations of sexual and domestic abuse involving approximately 800 officers, Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has revealed. The statement came shortly after a member of the force, David Carrick pleaded guilty to 49 such offenses, including dozens of rapes.

Rowley revealed that 1,633 cases of alleged sexual and domestic abuse over the past ten years are currently being looked into. On top of that, all 45,000 Met personnel will be rechecked to see if any past offenses were missed, he said.

Carrick, whose case has brought a spotlight on the problem, admitted to six more counts of sexual abuse on Monday, bringing the total to 49. The officer is believed to have committed the crimes against 12 women across two decades.

Commissioner Rowley apologized to the victims for the Met’s failure to investigate Carrick for so long, adding that the latter “should not have been a police officer.”

“We’ve let women and girls down, and indeed we’ve let Londoners down,” he said.

He added the force is aware that the high-profile case has likely shattered the trust in Met officers among many women in the British capital, something 10 Downing Street also said, on Monday.

Rowley admitted the police force has not “applied the same sense of ruthlessness to guarding our own integrity that we routinely apply to confronting criminals.”

Questions were raised after it was revealed that multiple complaints against Carrick had in fact been filed with the police from as early as 2000 all the way to 2021.

Accusations previously made by the man’s former partner also did not prevent him from successfully passing the Met's vetting procedure back in 2001. He even faced claims by another ex-partner during his probationary period – but the mounting complaints did not get in the way of Carrick’s subsequent vettings.

Britain's Home Secretary Suella Braverman described the revelations as “sobering” for the Met and “the whole policing family throughout the country.”
https://www.rt.com/news/570007-london-met-police-probe-sexual-offenses/
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17 Jan, 2023 12:41

7) --- Why the West's new anti-Russia sanctions are a dangerous game changer, Ivan Timofeev

The creation of mechanisms for the confiscation of Russian property will have long-term consequences for both the West and the whole world

(By Ivan Timofeev, Valdai Club Programme Director & one of Russia’s leading foreign policy experts.)

Since the start of Russia’s military offensive in Ukraine, Western countries have frozen the assets of Russian state and private structures under so-called “blocking sanctions." They have also discussed the option of seizing them and transferring the proceeds to Ukraine. Presently, the only country with the necessary legal mechanism for this is Canada. Which will make it the first world country to practically implement the procedure.

How does this system work? What does the first attempt at its implementation look like, and what are the consequences that may follow?

Prohibited techniques and who uses them

In countries that impose financial sanctions, a loss of control over assets has become rather widespread. Blocking sanctions have been frequently used by US authorities over the past decades. The EU, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and some others have also adopted the practice. Russia and China have the power to impose sanctions, but Moscow and Beijing rarely use it. For the West, however, this form of economic war has become common practice.

Along with the ban on financial transactions with individuals and legal entities included on the blocked persons list, sanctions also imply the freezing of their assets in the jurisdiction of the initiating countries. This means that a person or organization under blocking sanctions can no longer use their bank accounts, real estate, and other assets. Since February 2022, Western countries have imposed such sanctions on more than 1,500 Russian individuals and organizations. Considering the subsidiary structures, the number is even greater. The frozen assets are huge and include $300 billion in gold and foreign exchange reserves. And that’s not counting $30 billion worth of Russian-owned assets blocked by the G7 countries. Yet asset freezing is not the same as asset seizure. In case of the former, the person in question is not able to dispose of their assets, but formally, it’s still their property. At some point, the sanctions may be lifted, and the person may regain access to their property. Even following years of restrictions, a chance to recover the assets remains.

Some Western officials have spoken in favor of seizing the frozen assets and handing them over to Ukraine. Forfeiture mechanisms have existed for a long time. For example, property can be forfeited according to a court order as part of the criminal persecution of sanctions law violators. However, this procedure is hardly applicable for the mass seizure of property. Blocking sanctions are a political measure and don’t require the same proof of guilt that a criminal trial supposes. In other words, hundreds of Russian officials and entrepreneurs were put on lists because of their support of the special military operation but have not committed any criminal offense worthy of asset forfeiture. Sanctions have prompted a search for crimes like money laundering or other illegal operations. But the funds gathered this way would be a mere trifle compared to the volume of frozen assets. In order to seize and transfer the frozen assets, another plan is needed.

Unique Canadian Experience

Canada is the first country to legally implement the forfeiture mechanism. The 2022 revision of the Special Economic Measures Act gives Canadian authorities the power to seize property located in the country that is owned by a foreign state, any person or entity in that state, as well as a national of that foreign state who does not ordinarily reside in Canada. Such measures may be applied if “a grave breach of international peace and security has occurred that has resulted in or is likely to result in a serious international crisis.” The final decision is made by a judge after receiving a corresponding petition from a relevant representative of the executive authorities. Following that, the law says that the authorities, at their own discretion, may decide to transfer the proceeds from the confiscated property in favor of a foreign state affected by a grave breach of international peace and security, towards the restoration of international peace and security, and to compensate victims of a grave breach of international peace and security, gross human rights violations or acts of corruption.

The Canadian assets of tycoon Roman Abramovich’s company Granite Capital Holding Ltd. will be the first to fall prey to the new law. According to a statement by the Canadian authorities, it is valued at $26 million. Roman Abramovich is already on Canada’s blocked persons list, which means that his assets are frozen and any transactions with him are prohibited. The Russian businessman’s assets will now be seized and probably transferred towards the needs of Ukraine. The value is relatively small, but it may be used to set the mechanism in motion. The next steps may be a lot grander in scale.

Other countries are likely to follow Canada’s example. The U.S. talked about implementing a similar law back in April 2022, but nothing has been done at the legislative level so far. In the EU, the procedure hasn’t been legalized either, although Article 15 of Regulation 269/2014 obliges Member States to develop rules on the seizure of assets obtained as a result of sanction regime violations. The concept of “violations” is subject to broad interpretation. For example, Article 9 of the Regulation obliges blocked Russian individuals to provide an account of their assets to EU authorities within 6 weeks. A violation of this requirement may be seen as a circumvention of the sanction regulations.

What conclusions can we draw?

Presently, we may note several consequences of the Canadian authorities’ initiative.

First, it’s evident that forfeiture risks do exist, and they aren’t lying dormant. The current situation is a red flag for Russian individuals and companies that haven’t yet been sanctioned but own assets in Western countries. They need to understand that their property may be seized, not just frozen. This risk will surely be considered by foreign investors and property owners in those countries that risk becoming targets of Western sanctions in the future. This includes nationals of China, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and other states. Although it’s unlikely to cause a mass exodus of the citizens of these countries and their assets from Canada and other Western states, the warning signal will be heard.

Secondly, Russia is likely to take retaliatory measures. Western companies are speedily withdrawing their assets from Russia. Canadian business wasn’t widely represented in Russia even before last year. However, if the forfeiture practice becomes widespread in the West, Russia could also seize the remaining Western businesses on its territory. So far, Moscow has been cautious about freezing foreign property. While the US, EU, and other Western countries have actively blocked Russian individuals and their assets, Moscow has mainly responded with visa sanctions. However, if the seizure of Russian assets continues, it could stretch the Kremlin’s patience and cause it to retaliate.

Finally, the forfeiture practice alters the very concept of Western sanctions. The latter implies that a sanctioned individual’s “change of behavior” will result in the lifting of sanctions and the recovery of assets. The practice of freezing assets corresponded to this concept. However, the idea of forfeiture completely negates it. As of today, sanctions are becoming a purely destructive mechanism.
https://www.rt.com/news/569794-sanctions-and-seizure-of-russian-property/
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17 Jan, 2023 11:59

8) --- Türkiye labels NATO applicant a ‘terrorist propaganda center’

The accusation came after Sweden refused to launch a probe into a protest during which an effigy of President Erdogan was strung up

Sweden’s refusal to investigate a Kurdish publicity stunt, which saw an effigy of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan being hanged in public, amounts to “supporting terrorism,” Türkiye’s ruling AK Party has said. The incident has further strained relations between Ankara and Stockholm, who remain deadlocked over Sweden's bid to join NATO.

On Wednesday, a life-size dummy depicting Erdogan was hung upside down during a Kurdish rally in central Stockholm.

The group behind the protest, the Rojava Committee of Sweden, posted a video of the stunt on social media, urging the Turkish leader to resign if he didn’t want to face the fate of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, who was similarly strung up in public after his execution in 1945.

Türkiye has summoned the Swedish ambassador to Ankara over the incident and demanded that Stockholm “take necessary steps against terrorist groups.” However, a Swedish prosecutor refused to launch a probe, arguing that the demonstrators had been exercising their right to free speech.

The refusal to prosecute means that “a terrorist group can take any action it wants in Sweden; it can threaten the heads of states of friendly countries,” the spokesman for Erdogan’s AK Party, Omer Celik, told reporters on Monday.

What the Kurdish protesters did “has nothing to do with free speech,” he insisted, adding that Sweden has become the “propaganda center of these terrorists.”

“The silence of those who claim to champion democracy, pluralism, and freedom in the face of this vile terrorist act means nothing but supporting terrorism,” Celik asserted, as cited by Anadolu news agency.

Ankara is currently stalling on the bids by Sweden and Finland to join NATO, accusing them of harboring “terrorists” from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and other associated groups – which have been banned by the Turkish authorities – and demanding the lifting of an arms embargo on Türkiye.

Sweden has since lifted the ban on the sale of weapons, amended its constitution to make clamping down on terrorism easier, and carried out several extraditions of Kurdish suspects to Türkiye.

But Ankara insisted that those steps were not enough. On Sunday, Erdogan told Sweden and Finland that “first of all, you have to hand more than 100, around 130 of these terrorists to us.” If this isn’t done it would be impossible to ratify the two nations' NATO applications in the Turkish parliament, he warned.
https://www.rt.com/news/569999-turkiye-sweden-erdogan-kurds/

see also tweets (thread) https://twitter.com/fahrettinaltun/status/1613540338492403714

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17 Jan, 2023 12:10

9) ---New meeting with CIA’s Burns ‘possible’ – Russian spy chief

Heads of the two intelligence services previously held talks in mid-November

Sergey Naryshkin, who heads Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), has said he is willing to have a face-to-face with his counterpart from the CIA, Director William Burns. The two previously held a meeting in Ankara in mid-November.

Russia's top spy said on Tuesday that a new engagement with Burns was “possible,” the news agency TASS reported.

Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization hosted the previous meeting between the two in November last year, which reportedly lasted for about two and a half hours. The senior officials discussed nuclear threats arising from the Ukraine conflict and ways to mitigate them, according to the American side. Then, Burns reportedly traveled to Kiev to meet Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov lamented last month that the event in Türkiye was made public, blaming a leak in Washington.

“The Americans themselves told us ten times that this channel of communication was absolutely confidential and should not be disclosed … so that it would not be tainted by some propagandistic spin,” he told journalists.

“We agreed. But as soon as they landed in Ankara, [the news] got immediately leaked. I don’t know where from, whether it was the White House or the Department of State,” he added.

In his interview with TASS on Tuesday, Naryshkin discussed the Ukraine crisis, and Russia’s cooperation with China and Iran.
https://www.rt.com/russia/570002-naryshkin-burns-meeting-possible/
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