CIA Director William Burns, during a visit to Moscow, warned Russian intelligence services that they would face “consequences” if Moscow was found to be behind the “Havana Syndrome” among American employees, the Washington Post reported, citing officials familiar with the discussion.
According to the newspaper, Burns raised this issue at a meeting with the leadership of the Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) of Russia. He said that harm to the health of American diplomats and their families went beyond “professional intelligence.” At the same time, there were no direct accusations against Russia on his part.
The publication noted that Burns’s “if” wording says that after four years of investigation, the administration was unable to find out the cause of the “Havana syndrome”, but the warning issued by the FSB and SVR speaks of a serious suspicion of Moscow’s guilt. The CIA declined to comment on this issue; the Russian Embassy in Washington did not respond to the publication’s request.
Earlier, the Russian authorities denied involvement in the incidents with the “Havana syndrome”. It was named after the capital of Cuba, where US diplomats and spies first reported unusual symptoms in 2016, from headaches and vision problems to dizziness and brain injuries. Failure to pinpoint the cause of the health problems angered US diplomats and intelligence officials, who said they were suffering from Havana Syndrome. The publication noted that the administration of US President Joe Biden seeks to demonstrate that it takes these cases seriously. Over the past two months, two senior US officials have lost their jobs after being accused of not taking such incidents seriously enough.
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