CIA Chief Made Secret Visit to Europe Ahead of Blinken's Trip
Source: WSJ
The U.S. dispatched the head of the Central Intelligence Agency to Berlin and Kyiv, a week ahead of an official trip by the secretary of state to the region, as part of its efforts to persuade European nations to rally around a tougher response against Moscow and in support of Ukraine, an approach that is complicated by the countries’ closer economic ties with Russia.
CIA Director William Burns quietly visited the German and Ukrainian capitals days ahead of Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit this week to meet with key European allies, according to U.S. and German officials.
Mr. Burns, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia, briefed German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the intelligence community on the Russia-Ukraine issue and possible scenarios involving those countries. He said that Berlin should shut the recently completed Nord Stream 2 natural-gas pipeline to Russia in the event of an invasion of Ukraine, the officials said.
Mr. Blinken has promised a massive sanctions-led response against Russia if it invades, and U.S. officials say Washington and its European partners have worked out a plan to deploy financial sanctions that will hurt sensitive sectors of the Russian economy.
Read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/cia-chief-made-secret-visit-to-europe-ahead-of-blinkens-trip-11642679002
Germany played a leading role in corralling other European nations around successive decisions to sanction Russia following its 2014 annexation of Crimea, but it has also been wary of provoking its eastern neighbor, primarily due to the German economy’s heavy reliance on Russian gas.
Germany draws more than half of its gas imports from Russia, compared with just a third for the European Union, and has been using gas not just for heating but also for power generation after phasing out nuclear power. A supply stoppage now would hit Germany hard, as its reserves are currently low.
= new reply since forum marked as read
