FROM EIR DAILY ALERT
State Department Confirms Visit of Russian Security Chiefs
Feb. 2, 2018 (EIRNS)—The extraordinary meeting over the past week between the top intelligence leaders from Russia and the United States were both confirmed and defended by the CIA and the State Department, despite hysterical denunciations by the Russiagate mob. CIA chief Mike Pompeo defended the meetings in a letter to Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and the State Department has made very favorable comments on the visits of the director of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service Sergey Naryshkin, Federal Security Service (FSB) chief Alexander Bortnikov, and chief of the Russian General Staff’s Main Intelligence Directorate Col. Gen. Igor Korobov to Washington last week.
“I can tell you in a general matter, if something is considered to be in the national security interest of the United States, just like other countries, we have the ability to waive that so that people can come in to the United States,”
State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said referring to the fact that sanctions against the three were suspended for the visit, reported TASS.
“It is no secret that despite our many, many differences ... with the Russian government, we also have areas where we have to work together, and one of those is combatting terrorism and ISIS,” she continued.
“I know it’s a matter that’s frustrating to a lot of reporters—visa applications and those types of things are something that we are not able to discuss. That is considered private information under the federal law. Like it or not, that is just the law and so we have to adhere to that.”
Sputnik makes the point that the visit could be seen in the context of statements made by Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov made last month at which he said Russia is interested in increasing U.S.-Russian cooperation against terrorism in the context of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s initiative to establish an international counter-terrorism coalition. Antonov also said that the U.S. and Russia have no obstacles for such cooperation against terrorism and drafting the necessary regulatory framework for agreements would ensure national security of both states has been created.
