Russia sees talks with US as an opening to rebuild its spy networks, officials say

(CNN) — Russia is eyeing talks with the Trump administration about re-establishing a significant diplomatic presence in the US as an opening to rebuild its spy network in the West, current and former US officials say.

The US and Russia agreed to begin talks on restoring the regular operations of their respective embassies and consulates following a call between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin and a subsequent high-level meeting in Riyadh earlier this month.

On Thursday, US and Russian delegations met in Turkey to discuss more granular details like staffing levels, visas, diplomatic banking, and other operational issues. The US State Department said the two countries had “constructive” talks and agreed to follow up on their discussions at another meeting “in the near term.”

Though Secretary of State Marco Rubio has highlighted the importance of restoring regular diplomatic services and communications, current and former US and Western officials say the talks also represent a significant concession to Moscow, which is eager to reinstall intelligence operatives under diplomatic cover at its embassies and consulates in Washington, New York, and Houston.

Russia’s espionage capabilities have been significantly eroded over the last decade as the US and Europe routinely expelled Russian spies operating out of embassies under diplomatic cover, particularly as tensions escalated following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The issue is such a priority, two US officials said, that the Russians are refraining from putting another high-level meeting on the books until substantial progress is made on restoring Russia’s presence in the US.

“We will know soon if Russia is really willing to engage in good faith,” a State Department spokesperson said. If there is progress at the Istanbul meeting, “we would expect to convene again on these issues at a higher level,” they added.

US officials are also concerned about how the FBI, which is already stretched for resources and more wary now of pursuing Russian counterintelligence cases, will effectively counter a more robust Russian intelligence presence on US soil.

‘A priority’ for Russia

Since 2016, more than 100 Russian diplomats suspected of espionage have been expelled from the US, and Russian operatives were expelled en masse from Europe following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Moscow has also had no ambassador in Washington since last October when the previous envoy Anatoly Antonov left his post.

“Saying they are or would be enthusiastic” to re-establish that presence “is an understatement,” said one US official.

Another Western intelligence official said that rebuilding its spy network on the ground in the US “is a priority” for Russia.

“They are still very reliant on [human intelligence] and place a high value on these presences and the ability for officers to meet with contacts,” this official said. The Russians also want their officials to be able to remain in the US longer, said a former US official, which would give them the ability to operate and recruit more effectively.

Moscow has for years been particularly fixated on getting back its diplomatic properties in San Francisco, New York, and Washington DC that the US seized in 2017 in response to Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, current and former officials said. Trump also closed the Russian consulate in Seattle in 2018 due to its proximity to an American submarine base, Naval Base Kitsap.

Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said he raised the properties issue during his meeting on February 18 in Riyadh with Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and envoy Steve Witkoff.

A congressional official familiar with the intelligence on Russia’s previously expelled “diplomats” called it “hugely concerning” that the personnel could return in larger numbers.

“The last wave of expulsions were almost entirely operatives under thin cover,” this official said. “It is absolutely ludicrous that this is even in the cards at all given how endangering this would be to US national security, and how it would require more FBI counterintelligence resources to address—especially when the FBI is facing staffing reductions and dismissals.”

US intelligence officials and FBI agents have long felt that the size of Russia’s diplomatic presence in the US should be limited, current and former officials told CNN, because the majority of their diplomats who come to the US are in covered intelligence roles and require additional resources to monitor and track.

Echoing that, the Western intelligence official noted that how effective the Russians are inside the US will depend on the level of counterintelligence pressure the FBI puts on them.

But some FBI agents told CNN that there is a wariness now about pursuing cases related to Russian counterintelligence or criminal matters related to Russia, in part because of fear that that work could be seen as clashing with the White House’s efforts to be friendlier to Moscow.

An increased Russian diplomatic presence in the US could present opportunities for the FBI and US intelligence community, however, one of the US officials said. They noted that technical collection of Russian communications will be easier, and that the US “will have home field advantage,” and can plan for long term recruitments of Russian personnel who will have broader access to the Kremlin when they go back to Moscow or on another assignment.

Additionally, depending on how they proceed, the talks between the US and Russia will also allow US intelligence operatives to return in larger numbers to US diplomatic facilities in Russia.

“We want maximum freedom to operate there as well,” said one former US official.

Broadly, however, current and former officials said that the talks represent an attempt to get back to business as usual with Russia, even as it continues to wage a brutal war in Ukraine.

“They want to diplowash their crimes,” said another former senior US official. “So, by engaging in these discussions with the US, suddenly they are a respectable partner. It also provides another channel for the US and Russia to work together over the heads of the Europeans, which Putin desperately wants.”

CNN’s Jennifer Hansler contributed reporting.

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