CIA director Burns to meet Russian counterpart in Turkey

By AAMER MADHANI
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — CIA Director Bill Burns will meet with his Russian intelligence counterpart to underscore the consequences if Russia were to deploy a nuclear weapon in Ukraine. That’s according to a White House National Security Council official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity. The official says Burns and Russian SVR spy agency head Sergei Naryshkin will not discuss settlement of the Ukraine war during Monday’s meeting. The meeting marks the highest-ranking face-to-face engagement between U.S. and Russian officials since before Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the February invasion. Burns is expected to raise the cases of Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner and Michigan corporate security executive Paul Whelan, who are detained in Russia.