Russia's spy chief 'to talk to US' as G20 leaders meet to discuss Ukraine war

Telegraph ^ | November 14, 2022 | Roland Oliphant

[TigerLikesRoosterNew]

Russia's spy chief 'to talk to US' as G20 leaders meet to discuss Ukraine war

The high level meeting would be the first face-to-face summit between top Russian and US officials since the invasion of Ukraine

By Roland Oliphant, SENIOR FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT

14 November 2022 • 11:18am

Russia's foreign intelligence chief has flown to Turkey for high-level talks with the United States, Russian media has reported.

Sergey Naryshkin, the head of Russia's SVR spy agency, flew to Ankara earlier today with a Russian delegation, Kommersant reported.

The report could not immediately be confirmed. The newspaper said the Kremlin had refused to confirm or deny such a meeting was taking place.

The paper did not name members of the American delegation. Mr Naryshkin's usual US counterpart is Bill Burns, the director of the CIA. Joe Biden sent Mr Burns to Moscow in November last year to try to dissuade Vladimir Putin from going ahead with his planned invasion of Ukraine.

[Gay State Conservative]

Why the need for this talk? The Russians already know that The Big Guy will give them all the “flexibility” they could possibly want.

[TigerLikesRoosterNew]

Something’s going on behind the scenes, which requires the presence of Russian spook chief (and probably his American counterpart.)

[srmanuel]

It could be anything, they’re reports of Russia planning a major offensive and the USA threatening to intervene or it could be Russia looking for a way out of this mess, it could be neither of those options and be something like the dirty bomb threat we have previously heard about

[Gay State Conservative]

China's preparing to invade Taiwan. North Korea's preparing to invade South Korea. Iran is within months of developing a nuke. Why would the Russians feel even the slightest need to talk to The Big Guy's puppet masters?

Does not compute.

[Timber Rattler]

Now that the Russians have lost Kherson and have been pushed back across the Dnieper River, they're suddenly interested in talks.

Funny how that works.

[PIF]

Russia’s SVR spy agency

Foreign Intelligence Service - was KGB First Chief Directorate.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Intelligence_Service_(Russia)

The law authorizes the SVR to carry out the following:
Conduct intelligence;
Implement active measures to ensure Russia’s security;
Conduct military, strategic, economic, scientific and technological espionage;
Protect employees of Russian institutions overseas and their families;
Provide personal security for Russian government officials and their families;
Conduct joint operations with foreign security services;
Conduct electronic surveillance in foreign countries.
The SVR sends to the Russian president daily digests of intelligence ... the SVR recommends to the president which policy options are preferable

[PIF]

It could be anything ...
—
More likely a finalizing of the new grain deal with major concessions to Orcland.

[srmanuel]

Maybe but do you need spy chiefs to negotiate a grain deal

[Mouton]

the SVR recommends to the president which policy options are preferable

So even Putin is not running his country. Funny how that works these days. Remember what Scummer said about Trump meddling with the CIA, paraphrase: they can get back at you many ways

[Cronos]

China has been "preparing" to invade Taiwan since 1949.

But the Republic of China (the official name of Taiwan) is more than capable of tossing them off without any external aid.

The RoC is separated from the PRC by the Taiwan strait - which is, at its narrowest point 81 miles apart

In contrast the narrowest point of the Straits of Dover - the English channel is 20 miles

And no invader in modern times has been able or is able to invade the 20 mile wide English channel

The Straits of Taiwan are a highly effective barrier to keep the PRC away

Yes, the PRC is stronger ON PAPER

But

1. that's on paper
2. PRC hasn't fought a war since the 1970s and in contrast RoC has been preparing for this war and only this war for decades
3. The RoC will have American intelligence to target PRC ships
4. The RoC has the massive advantage as a defender

The PRC isn't going to bomb the RoC - they see it as a renegade province and bombing it is bad for the internal press (and can open the door to internal revolt)

As to a PRC invasion -- it would require preparations larger than Normandy. These would be detected months if not years in advance from satellites. In this day and age, surprise attack of this scale is no longer possible. In the long lead up to the invasion the Taiwanese would mobilize their 3,000, 000 reserves and weaponize the remaining 20 million civilian population.

Taiwan is defended in depth. There are nearly 300 mountains over 10,000 feet. As the invasion progressed, and PLA would be engaged in heavy urban, jungle and alpine warfare. It is at this point the invasion armada would be at its most vulnerable. If the PLA was able to successfully land 150 divisions, and if we calculate that each division requires 300 tons of fuel, ammunition, medicine and food a day, then the daily cross Taiwan straits supply chain would need to land 45,000 tons a day.

=============

the PRC and RoC are already heavily integrated economically and culturally

The PRC will continue with winning the RoC economically - they gain zero benefit by invading it. In contrast, the lands of Siberia and Manchuria that the Russians took from China in the late 1800s look very tempting

[Cronos]

In contrast, the lands of Siberia and Manchuria that the Russians took from China in the late 1800s look very tempting

[PIF]

Maybe but do you need spy chiefs to negotiate a grain deal
—
If you do not use the phrase “spy chief” then it become clear that that is the SVR job, their mandate:

Implement active measures to ensure Russia’s security;

Protect employees of Russian institutions overseas and their families;

Unless you imagine setting up a Russian government owned & insured grain and tanker fleet in an active war zone does not require any but the most basic of agreements in a pending controversial deal. Setting up such a situation is complex and complicated - more so because its Russian.

The SVR is not the FSB (nee KGB) or the GRU.

[PIF]

SVR recommends to the president
—
So even Putin is not running his country.
—

the Key Word is “recommends”.

Putin is under no obligation to do what they recommend, and when they have recommend too strongly, heads have rolled, people have disappeared.