MOSCOW, July 12. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Director Sergey Naryshkin has confirmed to TASS that he held a telephone conversation with US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director William Burns in late June, during which the two "thought about and deliberated on what should be done about Ukraine."
"Yes, indeed, a conversation took place at the end of last month. The way I see it, the June 24 events served as a pretext for a phone call by my American colleague. It is clear how I answered [Burns’] inquiry as to what transpired [on that day]," Naryshkin said. "It seems to me that it was largely a pretext [for arranging a call] because the bulk of the conversation was focused on discussing Ukraine and events around it. We gave some thought to and deliberated on what should be done about Ukraine," he added.
According to the SVR chief, the conversation lasted "about an hour."
The Russian intel chief noted that arranging an in-person meeting between him and the CIA head remained a possibility. "We did not agree on a meeting [during the phone conversation in late June], but such a possibility exists, both [additional] phone conversations and an in-person meeting remain possible," he said, replying to a question on the matter.
Commenting on media reports about Burns’ purported visit to Ukraine in June, the SVR head noted: "During our phone conversation, the subject of Burns’ visit to Kiev was not touched upon in any way."