William J. Burns, the director of the Central Intelligence Company, met along with his Russian counterpart in Turkey on Monday to warn Russia in opposition to using nuclear weapons in Ukraine, a White Home spokesman stated.
The talks in Ankara — the best stage face-to-face conferences between senior Russian and American officers since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February — had been seen as a part of the administration’s efforts to step up its communications with senior officers in Russia, which has made quite a few veiled threats about utilizing a nuclear weapon in Ukraine.
The Nationwide Safety Council stated the assembly was not in any method to negotiate or to debate any settlement of the conflict in Ukraine. Ukraine was briefed upfront on the journey, the spokesman stated.
President Biden has insisted that Ukraine, and never the USA, will dictate if and when negotiations begin to finish the conflict. However a disagreement has emerged on the highest ranges of the U.S. authorities over whether or not to press Ukraine to hunt a diplomatic finish to the conflict with Russia, with America’s high normal, Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Workers, urging in closed-door conferences that Ukraine ought to negotiate to cement its current beneficial properties.
In a submit on the messaging app Telegram on Monday, Gen. Valeriy Zaluzhny, the commander of the Ukrainian navy, stated he had spoken to Basic Milley and reiterated the nation’s place on potential negotiations: Russia should withdraw earlier than any talks are potential.
“The Ukrainian navy won’t settle for any negotiations, agreements or compromise selections,” he wrote.
U.S. and European leaders see their purpose for now as holding the conflict contained to Ukraine and deterring President Vladimir V. Putin from utilizing a tactical nuclear weapon or one other weapon of mass destruction within the battle. Mr. Putin has denied that Moscow is making ready to make use of a nuclear weapon in Ukraine, however senior American officers say that senior Russian navy leaders have just lately mentioned the potential for utilizing a tactical nuclear weapon within the nation.
Kommersant, a Russian enterprise each day newspaper, reported on Monday that the Russian delegation in Ankara was headed by Sergei Naryshkin, the pinnacle of the nation’s overseas intelligence service.
The Kremlin’s spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, confirmed to Tass, a Russian state information service, {that a} assembly had taken place. The assembly had been initiated by the USA, he stated, however he wouldn’t disclose the subjects mentioned. A C.I.A. spokeswoman declined to remark; the company by no means feedback on the director’s journey.
Russian and Ukrainian officers have made separate public feedback in current weeks about potential peace negotiations, greater than six months after their final recognized direct talks fell aside. However U.S. officers have stated that they don’t consider talks will start quickly and that each side, for now, suppose that continued preventing will strengthen their eventual negotiating positions.
The Nationwide Safety Council stated that Mr. Burns had deliberate within the assembly increase the matter of People detained in Russia. The Biden administration has been making an attempt to barter a prisoner swap with Russia to deliver residence the W.N.B.A. star Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan.
Ms. Griner has been detained in Russia since February after she flew into an airport close to Moscow with a small quantity of cannabis oil in her baggage. She was sentenced in August to 9 years in jail. Mr. Whelan was sentenced to a 16-year jail time period on espionage fees by a Moscow court docket in 2020.
In August, American and Russian officers stated they’d use a particular channel arrange by Mr. Biden and Mr. Putin at their assembly in Geneva final 12 months to barter over Ms. Griner and Mr. Whelan. U.S. officers have declined to disclose particulars of that channel. The Biden administration has supplied to launch Viktor Bout, a Russian arms vendor imprisoned in the USA, for the liberty of the 2 People.
Mr. Burns has beforehand been dispatched to work together with Russian officers over Ukraine. Earlier than Mr. Putin ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February, Mr. Burns flew to Moscow in November 2021 to inform Russian officers that the USA knew of the Russian plans and would forcefully reply to any invasion. Mr. Burns spoke by video to Mr. Putin, who was in Sochi on the time.
Julian E. Barnes and Ivan Nechepurenko contributed reporting.