Senior White House Official Involved in Undisclosed Talks With Top Putin Aides

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Senior White House Official Involved in Undisclosed Talks With Top Putin Aides

Jake Sullivan has had confidential discussions with Russian counterparts amid concerns over escalation, nuclear threats

 

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By Vivian Salama

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 and Michael R. Gordon

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WASHINGTON—President Biden’s top national-security adviser has engaged in recent months in confidential conversations with top aides to Russian President Vladimir Putin in an effort to reduce the risk of a broader conflict over Ukraine and warn Moscow against using nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction, U.S. and allied officials said.

The officials said that U.S. national-security adviser Jake Sullivan has been in contact with Yuri Ushakov, a foreign-policy adviser to Mr. Putin. Mr. Sullivan also has spoken with his direct counterpart in the Russian government, Nikolai Patrushev, the officials added.
The aim has been to guard against the risk of escalation and keep communications channels open, and not to discuss a settlement of the war in Ukraine, the officials said.

Asked whether Mr. Sullivan has engaged in undisclosed conversations with Messrs. Ushakov or Patrushev, National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said: “People claim a lot of things,” and declined to comment further. 

“Anglo-Saxon newspapers have been publishing numerous hoaxes,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday when asked about the undisclosed communications. He deferred to the White House or The Wall Street Journal for additional comment.

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The White House hasn’t publicly acknowledged any calls between Mr. Sullivan and any senior Russian official since March, when he spoke with Mr. Patrushev.

U.S. national-security adviser Jake Sullivan, left, has spoken with Russian counterpart Nikolai Patrushev, officials said, amid frayed relations over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.PHOTO: RON SACHS/PRESS POOL; VITALY NEVAR/TASS/ZUMA PRESS

The unpublicized discussions come as traditional diplomatic contacts between Washington and Moscow have dwindled and Mr. Putin and his aides have hinted he might resort to using nuclear arms to protect Russian territory, as well as gains made in his invasion of Ukraine this year.

Despite its support for Ukraine and punitive measures against Russia for the invasion, the White House has said that maintaining some level of contact with Moscow is imperative for achieving certain mutual national-security interests.

Several U.S. officials said that Mr. Sullivan is known within the administration as pushing for a line of communication with Russia, even as other top policy makers feel that talks in the current diplomatic and military environment wouldn’t be fruitful.

Officials didn’t provide the precise dates and number of the calls or say whether they had been productive.

Some former American officials said that it was useful for the White House to maintain contact with the Kremlin as U.S.-Russian relations are at their lowest point since the end of the Cold War.

“I think it’s always important, especially for nuclear-armed countries, to maintain open channels of communication to help understand what each side is thinking and thereby avoid the possibility of an accidental confrontation or war,” said Ivo Daalder, who served as the U.S. ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization during the Obama administration. “National-security advisers are the closest conduit to the Oval Office without bringing the president directly into that communication channel.”

The U.S. national-security adviser has had confidential conversations with top aides to Russian President Vladimir Putin.PHOTO: EVGENY BIYATOV/ASSOCIATED PRESS

President Biden sought to forge a working relationship with Mr. Putin during his first year in office, which culminated in a summit in Geneva in June 2021. Those talks touched on Ukraine, where the sides had clear differences, among an array of other subjects.

By October, however, U.S. intelligence indicated that Russian forces were preparing to invade Ukraine. CIA Director William Burns was sent to Moscow in early November 2021 to warn Mr. Putin against an invasion.

Mr. Biden spoke twice with Mr. Putin in December 2021 and again in February 2022 to try to avert a Russian attack while U.S. diplomats engaged with their Russian counterparts.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/senior-white-house-official-involved-in-undisclosed-talks-with-top-putin-aides-11667768988