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Who Is Sergey Beseda? Putin Taps Disgraced Spy Handler for Trump Talks

Russian President Vladimir Putin has tapped Sergey Beseda, who reportedly fell out of favor with the Kremlin in the past, to help negotiate with the U.S. – Newsweek has rounded up what we know about him.

Why It Matters

Washington, Moscow and Kyiv are currently embroiled in negotiations about the Russia-Ukraine war and these are set to continue in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Monday, when the focus will be on ensuring safe navigation in the Black Sea.

The Russian delegation for these talks will be led by Grigory Karasin, the chairman of the Federation Council committee on international affairs, and Beseda, an advisor to the Federal Security Service (FSB) director, Russian presidential aide for international affairs Yury Ushakov said.

"These are genuinely experienced negotiators who know international problems well," he told journalists.

What To Know

Beseda is an intelligence officer who reportedly fell out with Putin over some faulty intelligence in the run-up to Moscow's 2022 invasion, according to The Moscow Times.

Russian journalist Andrei Soldatov, a leading expert on the country's security services, reported the fallout at the time, saying Beseda was placed under house arrest.

Soldatov claimed the FSB attempted to downplay Beseda's arrest, "presenting it as a mere questioning of the powerful general."

"But now I've learned from my sources that this