C.I.A. Director Warns Russian Counterpart Against Using Nuclear Weapons
NY Times
WASHINGTON — The head of the Central Intelligence Agency warned his Russian counterpart against using nuclear weapons in a face-to-face meeting on Monday in Turkey, White House officials announced, part of the Biden administration’s effort to reduce the threat of escalation in the war in Ukraine.
The talks, led by William J. Burns, the director of the C.I.A., were the highest-level in-person meetings between senior Russian and American officials since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February. The discussions are part of the Biden administration’s efforts to step up its communications with senior Russian officials to convey concerns on the nuclear threat.
Mr. Burns’s meeting was not an attempt to negotiate with Russia over the end of the war — American officials have repeatedly insisted no peace talks will be conducted without the involvement of Ukraine’s government. The discussions, instead, were almost entirely focused on the threat of nuclear escalation, these officials said.