Sullivan has held talks with Putin aides amid nuclear fears: WSJ

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan has held talks with top aides to Russian President Vladimir Putin amid rising tensions between Washington and Moscow in recent weeks, according to the Wall Street Journal.

U.S. officials and allies told the news outlet that Sullivan has been in talks with Yuri Ushakov, a foreign-policy adviser to Putin, as well as Nikolai Patrushev, head of Russia’s security council.

It’s unclear how many times Sullivan has spoken with the officials, but the conversations have been focused on preventing escalation of the war as fears of Russia using nuclear weapons have been rising, according to the Wall Street Journal.

President Biden engaged in talks with Putin before Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, but publicly disclosed communications have largely been limited to military-to-military conversations in the months since.

After a series of setbacks in Ukraine, Putin has signaled that he was willing to use nuclear weapons to defend Russia, causing Biden to warn of a nuclear “armageddon.”

Putin has since said he will not use nukes in Ukraine, but top Russian officials have reportedly discussed when they would have to resort to such a tactic.

In September, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. has privately relayed messages to the Kremlin to “stop the loose talk” on nuclear weapons.

Amid growing calls for peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv, The Biden administration has been steadfast in saying that Ukraine should decide when it is time for diplomacy.

However, The Washington Post reported Saturday that U.S. officials have privately encouraged Ukrainian leaders to signal a public willingness to resolve the conflict, in order to show allies they are working to end the conflict amid soaring gas and food prices across the globe.

Ukrainian President Voldymyr Zelensky has vowed to retake all of the land illegally annexed by Russia, including four recently annexed territories and the Crimean Peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014.

Russia also recently accused Ukraine of preparing to use a “dirty bomb,” or an explosive device with radioactive material.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu about the “dirty bomb” claims, which the U.S. has dismissed and warned could be a pretext for a Russian attack.