The head of Russia’s domestic intelligence agency headed to Washington on Wednesday to participate in a high-profile White House summit on combating violent extremism.
Federal Security Service (FSB) Director Alexander Bortnikov has been ordered by President Vladimir Putin to lead a Russian delegation at the summit, Russian news agencies reported, citing the service.
Bortnikov will brief the summit’s participants on Russia’s system of fighting extremism, the FSB said. He will also share Russian know-how about how to withstand foreign terrorist fighters and present a system for exchanging suspects’ personal data, the reports said.
The decision to send a high-ranking official like Bortnikov at a time of unprecedented post-Cold War tensions between Washington and Moscow comes as a surprise.
Bortnikov is believed to be a close ally of Putin, having made his career in the Soviet KGB and its successor organization, the FSB, in Putin’s home town of St Petersburg. Putin himself was a career KGB officer and headed the FSB in the late 1990s.
He was put on the EU’s sanctions list in July, along with other Russian intelligence officials, for their involvement in shaping Moscow’s policy towards Ukraine.
However, the United States has not put Bortnikov on its sanctions’ lists.
Analysts have said that Washington wants to retain channels of communication with Moscow in order to continue cooperation in areas like international terrorism.
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said it was not unusual for Bortnikov to attend the summit despite US concerns about Russian involvement in Ukraine.
“Violent extremism and terrorism are problems that affect communities around the world, including Russia,” she said, noting that counter-terrorism was a topic on which Washington and Moscow continue to work together.
The summit is expected to address how to combat foreign fighters for Islamic State and other extremist groups in Iraq and Syria. A significant number of these fighters are believed to come from Russia’s sizable Muslim population.
US President Barack Obama is expected to address the summit both Wednesday and Thursday. Secretary of State John Kerry and National Security Advisor Susan Rice will also address it on Thursday.
Overall, delegations from 60 countries, the United Nations, European Union and regional groups are participating in the summit.
GNA
