CIA chief meets with Russian counterpart

CIA Director Bill Burns met on Monday with his Russian intelligence counterpart to warn of consequences if Russia were to deploy a nuclear weapon in Ukraine, according to a White House National Security Council official.

The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Burns and Sergei Naryshkin, head of Russia’s SVR spy agency, did not discuss settlement of the war in Ukraine during the meeting in Ankara, Turkey. Ahead of the meeting, White House officials said Burns had also planned to raise the cases of Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner and Michigan corporate security executive Paul Whelan, two Americans detained in Russia whom the Biden administration has been pressing to release in a prisoner exchange.