All news

Russian intel chief proud to be on West’s very first sanctions lists

At the same time, in Sergey Naryshkin’s words, Russian and Western intelligence agencies cooperate very well on the whole

MOSCOW, August 2. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Director Sergey Naryshkin is proud to have been put on the West’s very first sanctions lists, as he himself said in an exclusive interview with the Soloviev Live YouTube channel.

"This is a matter of pride. I was sanctioned at the very beginning when I was a State Duma member," he pointed out.

At the same time, in Naryshkin’s words, Russian and Western intelligence agencies cooperate very well on the whole, albeit with some exceptions.

"Moreover, we cooperated well in the past, particularly during the first part of [US President Donald] Trump’s tenure, when Michael Pompeo headed the Central Intelligence Agency. He called me literally right after his appointment, we later exchanged phone calls, I invited him and a group of his employees to Moscow, and we returned the visit afterward," the Russian foreign intelligence chief noted.