US National Intelligence Council Hopes to Cooperate With Russia: Chairman

The chairman of the US National Intelligence Council (NIC) said he would like to negotiate with his Russian colleagues and find areas the two countries can cooperate in.

WASHINGTON, December 2 (Sputnik) — US National Intelligence Council (NIC) hopes to collaborate with its Russian counterparts despite the tensions between the two countries, centre’s chairman Gregory Treverton told Sputnik Monday.

“I hope we’ll be able, despite the strains, to find areas where we can cooperate,” Treverton said. “We’ve traditionally had some cooperation on counterterrorism.”

Treverton noted since he joined the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in September, he has not talked with the Russian colleagues yet, but is willing to do it.

“We always want to talk to people. I haven't met with any of my Russian colleagues since I was only 8 weeks there,” he said. “I would be happy to talk to them, that's always a good thing to do."

Treverton added that cooperation between Moscow and Washington is “a policy question,” and “up to the Russians.”

The NIC is a center within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence that provides long-term strategic analysis.

Relations between Russia and the United States have been tense, and deteriorated amid the Ukrainian crisis.

Over the past several months, the United States, the European Union and a number of their allies introduced a range of sanctions targeting Russia’s banking, energy and defense sectors over Moscow’s alleged involvement in the escalation of the Ukrainian crisis.

In April, Moscow responded with a one-year ban on the import of food products from some countries which announced restrictions against it, including the United Sates.