Russian Intel Head Slams Reports of ‘Dispiriting’ Meeting With CIA Chief
This photo taken on May 7, 2013 shows Russian and the US flags running up as the US Secretary of State arrives at Moscow Vnukovo Airport
InternationalIndiaAfricaMOSCOW (Sputnik) – Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Director Sergey Naryshkin said on Monday that he held a positive view of the results of his meeting with US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) chief William Burns in Turkiye, despite the CIA head’s negative allegations about their conversation. On Sunday, during an interview with CBS News, Burns claimed that Naryshkin’s behavior during their talks in Ankara in November 2022 was “defiant”, with the US spy chief going on to describe the meeting as “pretty dispiriting.”
"I still maintain a positive assessment of the nature and results of the meeting with my colleague William Burns," Naryshkin told reporters, adding that the meeting in Ankara had been meaningful and had taken place in a "very comfortable environment."
The SVR chief also said he maintained great respect for Burns “as a very experienced, skillful diplomat, and as a colleague who probably has not yet obtained much experience as director of the Central Intelligence Agency.” © Sputnik / Maxim Blinov / Go to the mediabankThe head of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), Sergei Naryshkin
The head of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), Sergei Naryshkin / Go to the mediabankNaryshkin recalled that the meeting in Ankara had lasted for two and a half hours and suggested that it would not have gone on for so long if one of the parties had behaved rudely or arrogantly.
"I repeat, it was a very good and calm conversation. Well, why have such assessments come from my respected colleague? Perhaps, from the realization that during these talks I relied not so much on my own opinion, but on the opinion of the many millions of Russian people," Naryshkin clarified.
Naryshkin met with Burns on November 14, 2022 in Ankara. After the conversation, the SVR director confirmed in an interview with Sputnik that he had met with his US counterpart to discuss nuclear safety and the Ukraine conflict. In mid-January 2023, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov revealed that the meeting was arranged at the request of US President Joe Biden to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
