Sergey Naryshkin, the head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), confirmed on Wednesday that he spoke with CIA Director William Burns after Yevgeny Prigozhin’s short-lived rebellion.
US media outlets reported at the end of June that Burns phoned Naryshkin to assure that the US was not involved in Prigozhin’s mutiny. But Naryshkin said the two spy chiefs mostly discussed Ukraine.
“Yes, indeed, a conversation took place at the end of last month. The way I see it, the June 24 events served as a pretext for a phone call by my American colleague,” Naryshkin told Russia’s TASS news agency.
Naryshkin said the “bulk of the conversation was focused on discussing Ukraine and events around it. We gave some thought to and deliberated on what should be done about Ukraine.” He added that the conversation lasted about an hour.
Burns, a Russian speaker and former US ambassador to Russia, met Naryshkin in person last November, and Moscow has expressed interest in setting up another face-to-face discussion between the spy chiefs. Naryshkin said they didn’t agree to set up an in-person meeting during the phone call but added that “such a possibility exists.”
Burns recently called the war in Ukraine a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” to recruit Russian spies. The CIA has been attempting to contact people inside Russia by posting videos on social media.
When the CIA is a voice for peace, you know that the jig is up. Everyone grabs whatever they can get. No one cares what happens to the USA and its vassal states. Thy’ve had their moment in the sun and will soon be buried in the sands of time.
“CIA is a voice for peace” ?? Rose-colored glasses, eh? Isn’t Dave DeCamp implying that the “once in a lifetime opportunity” was the recruitment of Prigozhin? the reason for the call?
Naryshkin said the “bulk of the conversation was focused on discussing Ukraine and events around it.”
Talking is a good thing, Robert.
I agree, but spook talk is always oblique. Still, I hope you’re right.
I think that such spook talk is when the US and Russia discuss escalation rules.
Drone attacks on Moscow and the Russian air base did not result in WW3, for example.
That is structurally determined. Western elites’ financial capitalism cannot survive without war. Russia, otoh, famously very slow to anger anyway, is in a more primitive (internal development) stage of capitalism that thrives on peace and foreign trade.
CIA director Burns phoned SVR director Naryshkin
of course nobody was monitoring that secret phone-call.
the irony of Spy vs Spy probably escaped both of them entirely.
I don’t think anybody knows what happened with Prigozhin. But there are rumors that the Brits recruited him to start a mutiny. If Burns told the truth, it wasn’t us that put him up to it. Regardless, the Burns call probably quelled a crisis that could have gone much worse for everybody.
No one should be shocked the world goes on behind the scenes.
Someone has to be running the show while our President acts as a figurehead.
He can’t be running things because of his obvious decline that is getting worse by the day.
I’m waiting on the upcoming press conference over there this morning because we all know he’ll say something during it (because of that decline) that will need to be cleaned up.
I just hope 🙏 it won’t be too big of a big mess that he’ll create today.