MOSCOW (Realist English). The Director of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), Sergei Naryshkin, made a number of statements on key international topics.
In an interview with TASS on June 15, the head of the SVR touched upon interaction with US intelligence on Ukraine, further cooperation with Armenia, and also commented on the first-ever joint military exercises between Serbia and NATO.
Contacts between SVR and CIA on Ukraine
Sergei Naryshkin confirmed that contacts between the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service and the US Central Intelligence Agency on the Ukrainian topic continue. At the same time, he noted that the intensity of communication has decreased following the change in leadership of American intelligence.
“[Contacts with the CIA] exist, but they are not as active as with the previous director, but they exist,” Naryshkin stated. He explained that he was referring to the period when the CIA was headed by William Burns.
In January 2025, he was succeeded by John Ratcliffe, which, according to Naryshkin, affected the previous level of interaction.
The head of the SVR added that Russia is also conducting consultations with various countries on resolving various crises, citing the Middle East as an example.
Relations with Armenia and a Warning to Yerevan
Answering questions about the situation in the South Caucasus, Naryshkin spoke of the importance for Moscow of “maintaining good relations” with Yerevan. According to him, Russia expects to maintain good relations and develop cooperation with Armenia.
“For us, for Russia, it is important that good relations between the two countries be preserved, that cooperation and interaction develop on all fronts — in the economy, humanitarian cooperation, military and military-technical spheres,” Naryshkin said.
At the same time, the SVR director warned the Armenian leadership against excessive rapprochement with the collective West. In his assessment, if Armenia focuses solely on “some kind of help and support from the West,” additional barriers and difficulties in economic development will arise within the republic.
“But I still hope that the leadership of Armenia will act wisely,” Naryshkin noted.
Serbia’s First Exercises with NATO
The head of the SVR also spoke about the first-ever joint field exercises between Serbia and NATO, held in May 2026, which involved about 600 military personnel. Naryshkin gave a concise but telling assessment of the event.
“I would put it this way: it does not bring me joy,” the SVR director replied when asked by journalists to comment on Belgrade’s maneuvers with the North Atlantic Alliance.
The exercises, which lasted nearly two weeks in southern Serbia, were aimed, according to their organizers, at strengthening military coordination and developing cooperation.
However, as Naryshkin noted, such interaction is a worrying signal for Moscow, given Serbia’s traditionally neutral status and the historical memory of NATO’s bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999.
