US and Russian spy chiefs speak amid Ukraine war talks

CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Sergei Naryshkin, chief of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, or SVR, spoke over the phone Tuesday amid recent peace talks with Ukraine, endorsing a 30-day ceasefire.

“During their conversation, the parties discussed the issues of interaction of both intelligence agencies in areas of common interest and the settlement of crisis situations," the SVR press office told state-run TASS news agency.

The office also said in the statement that the two sides agreed "on maintaining regular contact between the SVR and CIA directors with the aim of facilitating international stability and security and reducing confrontation in relationships between Moscow and Washington.”

The CIA declined to comment on the record.

The conversation between Naryshkin and Ratcliffe took place to, in part, form an open line of communication between the two sides, Axios reported Wednesday, citing a source familiar with the call.

This was the first call between the spy chiefs since President Trump assumed the Oval Office on Jan. 20. It came just one day after Ukraine expressed readiness to accept a ceasefire.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said now that Kyiv has backed the proposal, it is on Russia to follow through, which would eventually lead to ending the three-year conflict in Eastern Europe.

“Our hope is that the Russians will say yes, that they will also agree, so the shooting will stop, the killing will stop, the dying will stop, and the talks can begin about how to end this war permanently, in a way that’s acceptable and enduring for both sides,” Rubio said.

Rubio’s comments came after U.S. officials met with senior Ukrainian officials in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia — a huddle that, in part, served as a way to normalize relations between Washington and Kyiv.

The Trump administration restored intelligence and military assistance to Kyiv, which was halted after the contentious back-and-forth between Trump, Vice President Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky late last month.

Rubio was joined by national security adviser Mike Waltz in Saudi Arabia this week. Zelensky’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov were representing Ukraine.

The Tuesday call indicates an increased effort by Washington to communicate with Moscow.

U.S. officials, including Rubio, Waltz and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov last month in Saudi Arabia. There, the two sides spoke about ending the Russia-Ukraine war.

Witkoff is reportedly traveling to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, multiple outlets reported this week, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Witkoff also said earlier this week that Zelensky offered an apology in a letter to Trump for the explosive Feb. 28 bilateral meeting.

“I think that it was an important step and there’s been a lot of discussion between our teams and the Ukrainians and the Europeans, who are relevant to this discussion as well,” Witkoff said, adding later in the interview the importance for representatives involved in the peace talks to talk about territorial issues and security protocols for Ukrainians.

“These are not complicated things, they just … need to be put on the table and everybody needs to be transparent about what their expectations are, then we can begin to have a discussion about how we compromise,” the Middle East envoy said.

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