Adam Schiff Urges Continued Support for Ukraine Despite ‘Growing’ Threat of Direct Conflict Between U.S. and Russia

Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA) warned of a “growing” threat of direct conflict between Russia and America, even as he called for the U.S. to keep on supporting Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion.

Schiff spoke with Margaret Brennan on CBS’s Face The Nation, where the conversation largely revolved around the diplomatic ramifications of the Brittney Griner–Viktor Bout prisoner exchange. This led to Schiff taking questions on what he thinks about CIA Director William Burns‘ recent meeting with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Naryshkin, especially now that Vladimir Putin is again threatening the possibility of nuclear war.

Schiff: I think there are circumstances in which it is valuable to have our head of intel meet with their head of intel, even when the Russians are at war in Ukraine, and we are strongly back in Ukraine. There’s a long history of this, of these kind of private communications to keep the lines open, to make sure that we don’t get into a direct shooting war with Russia, that we don’t get into some kind of a nuclear confrontation. We are lucky to have Bill Burns, who is a career diplomat who happens to be the head of the CIA, now engage in those kinds of discussions. So, I do think that can be very valuable.

Brennan: Do you think the risk of direct conflict is growing?

Schiff: I think it is growing. I think it is manageable, and I think the Biden administration has done a remarkable job in managing that and not letting it get out of hand. But you see Putin continue to rattle the nuclear saber which is extremely dangerous. It can’t deter us though, from giving our full and complete support to Ukraine. They are fighting valiantly and democracy itself, I think is the cost of the struggle.

Watch above via CBS.