Thanks for the tip
RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin telephoned US President Donald Trump Sunday to thank him for a CIA tip that helped thwart a series of bombings in St Petersburg.
During the call, the two leaders’ second in three days, Putin expressed gratitude for the CIA information.
The Kremlin said it led Russia’s top domestic security agency to a group of suspects that planned to bomb St Petersburg’s Kazan Cathedral and other crowded sites.
“The information received from the CIA proved sufficient to find and detain the criminal suspects,” the Kremlin said.
The White House said in its readout of the conversation that “based on the information the United States provided, Russian authorities were able to capture the terrorists just prior to an attack that could have killed large numbers of people.”
The White House said Mr Putin extended his thanks and congratulations to CIA Director Mike Pompeo and the agency.
Mr Trump then called Pompeo “to congratulate him, his very talented people and the entire intelligence community on a job well done.”
“President Trump appreciated the call and told President Putin that he and the entire United States intelligence community were pleased to have helped save so many lives,” the White House said.
“President Trump stressed the importance of intelligence co-operation to defeat terrorists wherever they may be. Both leaders agreed that this serves as an example of the positive things that can occur when our countries work together.”
The Kremlin said Mr Putin assured Mr Trump “if the Russian intelligence agencies receive information about potential terror threats against the United States and its citizens, they will immediately hand it over to their US counterparts via their communications channels.”
The CIA’s tip to Russia comes even as Russia-US ties have plunged to their lowest level since the Cold War era – first over Russia’s annexation of Crimea and support for proRussia separatists in Ukraine, and more recently over allegations that Moscow interfered in the US presidential election to help Mr Trump.
While Russian officials have said the two countries were continuing to exchange some terror-related intelligence, the statement from the Kremlin was Russia’s first public assertion information from the US helped prevent an attack.