CIA boss talks nuclear weapons and prisoners with Putin's spy chief - Reuters

LONDON/WASHINGTON, Nov 14 (Reuters) - U.S. Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns was expected to caution President Vladimir Putin's spy main astatine talks connected Monday astir the consequences of immoderate usage of atomic weapons, and to rise the contented of U.S. prisoners successful Russia, a White House authoritative said.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed to Russian quality agencies that a U.S.-Russia gathering had taken spot successful the Turkish superior Ankara but declined to springiness details astir the participants oregon the subjects discussed.

The White House spokesperson, speaking connected information of anonymity, said Burns was gathering Sergei Naryshkin, caput of Russia's SVR overseas quality service.

It was the archetypal known high-level, face-to-face U.S.-Russian interaction since Russia invaded Ukraine successful February.

"He is not conducting negotiations of immoderate kind. He is not discussing colony of the warfare successful Ukraine," the spokesperson said.

"He is conveying a connection connected the consequences of the usage of atomic weapons by Russia, and the risks of escalation to strategical stableness ... He volition besides rise the cases of unjustly detained U.S. citizens."

Burns is simply a erstwhile U.S. ambassador to Russia who was sent to Moscow successful precocious 2021 by President Joe Biden to caution Putin astir the unit build-up astir Ukraine.

"We briefed Ukraine successful beforehand connected his trip. We firmly instrumentality to our cardinal principle: thing astir Ukraine without Ukraine," the spokesperson said.

Putin has repeatedly said Russia volition support its territory with each disposable means, including atomic weapons, if attacked. He says the West has engaged successful atomic blackmail against Russia.

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The remarks raised peculiar interest successful the West aft Moscow declared successful September that it had annexed 4 Ukrainian regions that its forces partially control.

The U.S.-Russian interaction successful Turkey was archetypal reported by Russia's Kommersant newspaper. The SVR did not respond to a petition for comment.

Beyond the war, Russia and the United States person a big of outstanding issues to discuss, ranging from the hold of a atomic arms simplification pact and a Black Sea atom woody to a imaginable captive swap and the Syrian civilian war.

U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, asked astatine a acme of the Group of 20 (G20) starring economies successful Indonesia astir the gathering successful Turkey, said the United Nations was not involved.

Biden said this period helium hoped Putin would beryllium consenting to sermon earnestly a swap to unafraid the merchandise of U.S. hoops prima Brittney Griner, who has been sentenced to 9 years successful a Russian penal colony connected drugs charges.

Former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, who holds American, British, Canadian and Irish passports, was sentenced successful 2020 to 16 years successful a Russian jailhouse aft being convicted of spying, a complaint helium denied.

Viktor Bout, a Russian arms trader jailed successful the United States, has been mentioned arsenic a idiosyncratic who could beryllium swapped for Griner and Whelan successful immoderate captive exchange.

Reporting by Reuters; Additional reporting by Jonathan Spicer successful Turkey; Editing by Gareth Jones

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