U.S. Confirms Talks with Russia in Turkey on Nuclear War Risk, Not Ukraine

The White House has confirmed to Newsweek that delegations from the United States and Russia were currently holding talks in Turkey, but said the discussions were centered around mitigating the nuclear threat between the two nations, not on the current conflict in Ukraine.

"We have been very open about the fact that we have channels to communicate with Russia on managing risk, especially nuclear risk and risks to strategic stability," a spokesperson for the National Security Council told Newsweek.

The spokesperson went on to say that, "as part of this effort," CIA Director William Burns "is in Ankara today to meet with his Russian intelligence counterpart."

"He is not conducting negotiations of any kind. He is not discussing settlement of the war in Ukraine," the spokesperson said. "He is conveying a message on the consequences of the use of nuclear weapons by Russia, and the risks of escalation to strategic stability. He will also raise the cases of unjustly detained US citizens."

"We briefed Ukraine in advance on his trip," the spokesperson added. "We firmly stick to our fundamental principle: nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine."

Reports of the talks first emerged Monday in the Russian newspaper Kommersant, which said that Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Director Sergey Naryshkin was in attendance.

After initially neither confirming nor denying, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov eventually also validated the reports, telling the state-run TASS Russian News Agency that "such negotiations did, indeed, take place" and "they were initiated by the U.S. side."

Ankara has been the most active mediator between Kyiv and Moscow since Russia launched its war against neighboring Ukraine in February. In July, Turkey managed to get both sides to sign on to a grain export deal, alleviating a global food crisis spurred on by the conflict and was able to secure Russia's return to the agreement earlier this month after the Kremlin initially quit over a drone attack against Russia's Black Sea Fleet.

But as hostilities continue with no diplomatic resolution in sight, President Joe Biden and his administration have repeatedly raised concerns about nuclear rhetoric used by Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin has, in turn, accused the White House of adopting dangerous positions by increasing military aid to Ukraine and seeking to weaken Russia strategically.

In a statement published earlier this month, the Russian Foreign Ministry asserted that Russia "is strictly and consistently guided by the tenet that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought."

"Russian doctrinal approaches in this sphere are defined with utmost accuracy, pursue solely defensive goals and do not admit of expansive interpretation," the statement added. "These approaches allow for Russia to hypothetically resort to nuclear weapons exclusively in response to an aggression involving the use of weapons of mass destruction or an aggression with the use of conventional weapons when the very existence of the state is in jeopardy."

Biden, for his part, issued the release of his own country's stance on the issue late last month in the form of the latest Nuclear Posture Review. Like the National Defense Strategy and Missile Defense Review published alongside it, the document outlined threats from both Russia and China, and it also appeared to leave room for the role of nuclear weapons in response to non-nuclear threats.

"As long as nuclear weapons exist, the fundamental role of nuclear weapons is to deter nuclear attack on the United States, our Allies, and partners," the policy read. "The United States would only consider the use of nuclear weapons in extreme circumstances to defend the vital interests of the United States or its Allies and partners."

In a section referencing Russia and China, specifically, the document said that "in a potential conflict with a competitor, the United States would need to be able to deter opportunistic aggression by another competitor."

"We will rely in part on nuclear weapons to help mitigate this risk," the document added, "recognizing that a near-simultaneous conflict with two nuclear-armed states would constitute an extreme circumstance."

This is a developing news story. More information will be added as it becomes available.