Contrary to popular notion and a belief largely nurtured by the Cold War dynamics and its legacy, the US and Russian spy agency chiefs have met on quite a few occasions although only when the situation and circumstances demand it.
In an indication that the times are indeed extraordinary and therefore necessitate extraordinary measures, the world’s two top spymasters—the chiefs of the American CIA head and the Russian SVR foreign intelligence agency—met face-to-face in the Turkish capital of Ankara on Monday.
The first to report on the secret meeting of the spy chiefs was the Russian state-owned daily Kommersant which quoted a source as saying that 'delegates' from Washington were meeting on Monday with Russian 'delegates' which reportedly included Sergei Naryshkin, head of the SVR foreign intelligence agency.
On the other hand, the news agency Reuters reported that a White House spokesperson had confirmed Monday’s meeting and said that CIA Director William J. Burns was conveying a message (in the meeting) about the consequences of the use of nuclear weapons by Russia and the meeting was not about the military operations in Ukraine. The report did not name the Russian spy chief and just mentioned Burns’ "Russian colleague".
"He (Burns) is conveying a message on the consequences of the use of nuclear weapons by Russia, and the risks of escalation to strategic stability," the Reuters report quoted the spokesperson as saying. Burns is an old Russia hand who was posted twice in Moscow as a diplomat.
Past Meetings
Interestingly, in December 2021, Naryshkin had, in a rare interview on Russian state-owned TV, spoken of the CIA—the US spy agency—as a 'partner.
'“Our partners include the US CIA, with which we continue to interact on the fight against international terrorism and exchange views on topical issues of our time," he said even as he mentioned a meeting with CIA Director Burns where the latter spoke of the "mutually beneficial cooperation based on generally accepted principles of partnership."
SVR-RF (Sluzhba vneshney razvedki Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the foreign intelligence agency of Russia, the equivalent of India's Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW). First set up in 1920 as a part of the more famous KGB, it slipped into its present avatar in December 1991.
SVR’s is mandated to handle intelligence and espionage activities outside Russia as well as to oversee anti-terrorist and intelligence-sharing arrangements with foreign spy agencies. SVR's findings and observations are reported to the Russian President.
Why Turkey?
Of significance is the choice of venue—Ankara. Turkey has eased itself into a mediating position between the US and Russia which will considerably enhance its international standing.
While Turkey has seized the opportunity, India frittered its own chances of playing the mediator in the backdrop of the Ukraine conflict which was very much a possibility as India has warm relations with Russia, the US and Ukraine.
What makes Turkey an ideal venue is that while being an important member of the US-led NATO, it has booming trade relations with Russia and it is only from the Turkey-owned Bosphorus Strait that Russia can move its navy from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean.
The timing of the meeting
Two factors seem to have contributed the most to paving the way for this rare meeting.
One, with winter just on the way, the complexity of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict will increase. Besides difficulties for the military, the civilians of the war zone and surrounding areas will find it very difficult to face the brutal weather without any heating and electricity in their homes amid acute water and food scarcity.
It was largely Russian-supplied gas that heated most homes throughout Europe. With Russia stopping gas supplies and with most power plants being destroyed, winter woes will multiply.
Second, with the Ukrainian forces advancing and the Russians in retreat mode in many places on the frontline, a desperate Russia might be tempted to exercise the nuclear option as there have already been threats issued.
The reported meeting comes in the backdrop of parleys between US national security adviser Jake Sullivan and senior Russian officials largely focused on limiting the ongoing war.
R&AW and ISI
The top spies of bitter rivals India and Pakistan have had a 'unique' working relationship too. In 2018, ex-RAW chief AS Dulat co-authored a book 'Spy Chronicles' with former Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lieutenant General (retd) Asad Durrani on their professional experiences.
An incident that underlined professional cooperation took place in 2002-2003 when RAW apparently saved the life of the then Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf by tipping the ISI of a team of 3-4 militants of the Jaish e Muhammad (JeM) who were out to assassinate Musharraf.
Dulat had said: "R&AW passed on the information to ISI which then took the necessary precautionary steps. Later, Musharraf asked the ISI to pass on his personal thanks to RAW."
After retiring from the Army, the India-born Musharraf became Pakistan’s tenth President from 2001 to 2008.