Ukraine's national security secretary held secret meetings with FBI leadership, WP reports
Photo: Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council (facebook.com/rustemumerov)
Secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council Rustem Umerov held meetings with the leadership of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation during his visits to America, the Washington Post reports.
According to four unnamed WP sources, Umerov held secret meetings with FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino during his trip to the United States for talks on the peace plan. These meetings reportedly raised concern among Western officials.
The outlet writes that, according to rumors, Umerov and other Ukrainian representatives may have approached Patel and Bongino in hopes of obtaining amnesty from possible corruption charges. There are concerns that Washington could use such a channel to pressure the Ukrainian government into accepting a US peace plan that includes significant concessions from Ukraine.
Ukraine's ambassador to the US, Olha Stefanishyna, confirmed to WP that Umerov indeed met with FBI leadership. However, she said that only national security issues that cannot be disclosed were discussed.
A representative of the FBI said the meetings focused on shared law enforcement and security interests of both countries. Corruption issues in Ukraine were touched upon, but were not the main topic.
He added that any suggestions that these meetings were improper are "complete nonsense."
A White House representative said that "US officials regularly communicate with world leaders about national security issues of shared interest."
He added that Trump's national security team is "speaking with both the Russians and the Ukrainians to facilitate a deal to end the war," and that those expressing concerns about the FBI meetings "are not privy to these diplomatic conversations and have no idea what they are talking about."
Umerov’s trips to the US
As reported earlier, Secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council Rustem Umerov traveled to Miami several times for talks with US President's Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.
As a result of these negotiations, the US peace plan to end Russia's war against Ukraine was revised. The plan now contains 20 points instead of 28 in the original version.
The contents of the updated peace plan have not yet been disclosed.
