Vladimir Putin's spymaster 'has telephone call with MI6 chief' as EU leaders meet to discuss Ukraine funding

Vladimir Putin's spymaster has said he had a "rather lengthy telephone conversation" with the new head of MI6, Russian state news agency Tass has reported.

Sergei Naryshkin, Russia's foreign intelligence director, said: "A few days ago, I had a rather lengthy telephone conversation with the newly appointed chief of MI6 [Blaise] Metreweli."

He added that Russian intelligence officers worked officially in London while MI6 officers worked officially in Moscow, according to Tass.

Ms Metreweli took over as chief of the Secret Intelligence Service on 1 October.

Sky News military analyst Michael Clarke believes it shows Moscow is "trying to imply that the Brits are somehow appealing to them… because of the negotiations going on in Washington".

Further US-Russia talks are expected to take place over the coming days.

EU talks stall amid fears over 'Russian retaliation'

Mr Naryshkin's comments came as the European Union held crunch talks on Ukraine funding in Brussels.

EU leaders met at the bloc's headquarters on Thursday to discuss a plan to use frozen Russian assets - but tensions have arisen, with Belgium vocally opposed to the plan amid fears of Russian retaliation.

Most of the €190bn (£166bn) of assets frozen after the start of the war in 2022 are currently held in Belgium, specifically by Euroclear, the Brussels-based financial clearing house.

Belgium's Prime Minister Bart De Wever said the plan to loan Ukraine the frozen assets "drastically increases the risk of Russian retaliation".

"It's not acceptable that this happens to Belgium alone," he added. "If we jump, we jump together."

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Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he understands "the risks that he is talking about, but I think that we face bigger risks".

"Ukraine has the right to this money because Russia is destroying us," Mr Zelenskyy said.

In a post on X, he added: "The decision now on the table - the decision to fully use Russian assets to defend against Russian aggression - is one of the clearest and most morally justified decisions that could ever be made."

Trump claims peace deal is 'close'

On the other side of the Atlantic, Donald Trump has been pressuring Ukraine to move quickly to secure a peace deal.

The US president's envoys are scheduled to meet with a top adviser to Mr Putin in Miami on Saturday, where they are due to discuss the evolving US peace agreement aimed at ending the war.

Mr Trump has been optimistic that a deal can be reached.

"Well, we're getting close to something, but I hope Ukraine moves quickly because Russia is there," he said. "Every time they take too much time, Russia changes their mind."

Russia 'deploys nuclear-capable missiles' to Belarus

Russia has deployed its latest nuclear-capable missile system to Belarus according to the country's president, Alexander Lukashenko.

The authoritarian leader said the Oreshnik, an intermediate range ballistic missile system, arrived in the country on Wednesday and is entering combat duty.

He did not provide any further details.

Russia has previously deployed tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, the territory of which it used to launch the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

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