Putin, Biden maintained indirect channels of communication since February 2022 - Reports

Russian President Vladimir Putin and US leader Joe Biden have maintained indirect channels of communication since the start of the special military operation in February 2022, although they have not communicated directly since then, the New York Times claims.

In February 2024, in an interview with US journalist Tucker Carlson, Putin said that he had not spoken to Biden since February 2022. At the same time, he noted that Russia and the United States had "certain contacts."

The publication claims that at some point, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan secretly initiated a series of calls to Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov. In particular, according to the newspaper, during one of these calls, Sullivan told Ushakov that the US considered Russia responsible for the situation with sending parcels with explosive devices by courier services, which the Kremlin categorically denied, accusing, in turn, the authors of such statements of insinuations.

According to the New York Times, CIA Director William Burns also spoke on this topic with Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Director Sergei Naryshkin and FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov.

Allegations about Sullivan's contacts with Ushakov and Burns's with Naryshkin have appeared in the Western press before. In February last year, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said, commenting on similar publications, that occasional phone conversations between high-ranking officials of the Russian Federation and the United States took place, thus Moscow conveyed to Washington signals about the danger of escalation in Ukraine.

At the same time, he emphasized that he cannot disclose the subject of such contacts, and complained that "the Americans constantly leak issues that we agree with them to keep confidential."

In October 2024, the Polish National Prosecutor's Office reported the arrest of a group of saboteurs who sent parcels with explosive devices by courier services.

The prosecutor's office stated that the group's activities consisted of committing acts of sabotage and subversion related to the transfer of parcels with disguised explosives and dangerous substances, which spontaneously ignited or detonated during land and air transportation, through courier companies to the countries of the European Union and the United Kingdom. In addition, the group's goal, according to the investigation, was to test the transmission channel for such shipments that were to be delivered to the United States and Canada.

The Wall Street Journal published an article claiming that the shipment of explosive devices was allegedly a secret operation by Russia.

Reports that Russia may allegedly be involved in the shipment of parcels with explosive devices to the EU by courier services are unfounded insinuations on the part of the media, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Sputnik