A Real Life Example of Russian Information Operations

"Interestingly, Bortnikov and Naryshkin did not travel at the same time, indicating to me that there was no love lost between the two. The SVR delegation arrived first, spent one day meeting with the leadership teams of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), then departed the next day before Bortnikov and his delegation arrived."

"Because these visits were part of the U.S. Administration's "Intelligence Diplomacy" efforts, the U.S. and Russian sides both agreed that there would be no public or official statements about the meetings, nor would there be any organized media coverage of the visits. After meetings with the DNI and CIA, Naryshkin had dinner plans with the then-Russian Ambassador to the U.S., Anatoly Antonov."

"And on the day of his departure from the U.S., Naryshkin advised a representative of the U.S. side supporting the visit that he and Antonov chose to have dinner at a quiet restaurant in Georgetown and that while dining together, a Russian journalist "happened" to be in the same restaurant at the same time, saw Naryshkin, and would "probably write a story" about his visit."

In January 2018 the heads of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) and Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) visited Washington, D.C., separately to discuss counterterrorism cooperation. The SVR delegation arrived first, met one day with CIA and the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), then departed before the FSB head arrived. The Russian Main Directorate of Intelligence (GRU) head did not travel to the U.S., and neither delegation held other official or unofficial meetings with U.S. officials. The visits were coordinated within the U.S. Government Interagency under an "Intelligence Diplomacy" agreement that precluded public statements or organized media coverage. Naryshkin dined with Ambassador Anatoly Antonov and noted a Russian journalist coincidentally observed them and would "probably write a story."

Read at The Cipher Brief