CIA-NSC meet: Americans, facing Chinese heat, reach out to Russia

Details of the meeting between Gen. Nikolai Patrushev (left) and William Burns (right) have been kept secret

Russia’s National Security Council head, Gen. Nikolai Patrushev, is the man of the moment. He is meeting all those who matter in the world of geostrategic relations.

While he met his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval last month just after the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, Patrushev met the CIA director William Burns who on a visit to Moscow on November 2.

Amid ever worsening US-Russian ties, Burns met Patrushev, the presidential body said in a statement.

Issued by the National Security Council, the statement did not give any details about what transpired in the meeting and did not even reveal the venue.

Says former Indian high commissioner to Pakistan, G Parthasarathy: ``The writing is on the wall. Americans are rattled by China and they do not want to take on a combined Russia-China axis. That is why there is panic.”

According to Rajiv Bhatia, former Indian Ambassador, currently Distinguished Fellow, Gateway House: ``The meeting yesterday looks like a followup meeting between President Biden and President Putin in Geneva. It is a good idea that major powers talk through their top officials and National Security Advisers. It is a good sign."

The symbolism is not lost though. ``While such meetings are routine, the Chinese factor adds an urgency to it. You may have noticed that President Xi Jinping did not attend COP26 at Glasgow and, in solidarity, President Putin addressed the meeting virtually."

A short photoshoot at the start of the US-Russia meeting showed the two security officials greet each other with a nod of the head. Patrushev and Burns then sat down for a discussion surrounded by a small delegation and translators, state-controlled Russian TV said.

News of the high-profile visit comes as the consistently cold relations between Russia and the US worsened over the past few weeks.

Last month, US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Victoria Nuland, traveled to Moscow for a three-day visit, meeting the country’s top officials – but the long-awaited negotiations broke down without producing any tangible results.

Nuland’s fruitless visit was followed by the breaking of ties between Russia and NATO. In October, the US-led bloc expelled eight Russian diplomats from its Brussels headquarters on the pretext of their alleged involvement in "espionage".

Russia responded by recalling its entire delegation from Brussels and issued an order to shut down NATO’s office in Moscow, effectively severing all remaining relations.

On September 7, NSA Ajit Doval met Patrushev for high-level India-Russia intergovernmental consultations on the situation in Afghanistan.

The discussions come hours after the Taliban announced a new interim government in the war-torn nation, revealing a cabinet that includes several individuals sanctioned by the United States and the United Nations, along with an FBI ‘most wanted’ terrorist as a top minister.

Considering these developments, Patrushev's visit to India and the subsequent meetings with Doval assumed special significance for both New Delhi and Moscow.

The consultations last month were on the developing situation in Afghanistan, created by the withdrawal of US forces.

``Both Russia and India share similar concerns on terrorism, especially to ensure that the Taliban adhere to their promises and assurances,” a top official said, requesting anonymity.

Russia is also invited to a regional security meeting on Afghanistan to be hosted by India. The Pakistan National Security Adviser has already declined to attend the meeting.

General Patrushev is widely understood to be the ‘right-hand man’ of Russian President Vladimir Putin.