WASHINGTON, Feb 02 (Reuters): US Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo on Thursday defended talks he had at CIA headquarters last week with Russian spy chiefs at a time of strained ties between Washington and Moscow and political squabbling over allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 US election.
A US intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, accused Moscow of disclosing the visit partly to fuel political discord in Washington over investigations of a Russian interference campaign that is rankling President Donald Trump and some of his fellow Republicans.
The US Senate's top Democrat Chuck Schumer wrote to Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats on Jan. 31 asking why US intelligence officials met with Sergey Naryshkin, the head of Russia's foreign intelligence agency, known as the SVR.
"We periodically meet with our Russian intelligence counterparts for the same reason our predecessors did - to keep Americans safe," Pompeo replied to Schumer in a letter made public on Thursday. There is nothing "untoward" about such meetings, Pompeo said.
"We cover very difficult subjects in which American and Russian interests do not align," Pompeo said. "We vigorously defend America in these encounters and pull no punches - we never will." The Russian Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond on Thursday to requests for comment on the meetings.
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