CIA Chief Says Russia 'Could Be' Behind Havana Syndrome, But Does Not Know For Sure

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd July, 2021) CIA Director William Burns in an interview with NPR said that Russia could be behind the so-called Havana syndrome affecting the health of US diplomats in Cuba but there are no definitive conclusions and various possibilities.

"Could be, but I honestly cannot - I don't want to suggest until we can draw some more definitive conclusions who it might be. But there are a number of possibilities," Burns said in the interview published on Thursday when asked if Russia is behind the Havana syndrome.

For years, similar accusations against Russia about these types of attacks have emerged in American media outlets from time to time, with Moscow repeatedly denying them. In 2017, the Russian Foreign Ministry characterized the US allegations as completely absurd and strange.

US diplomats in Cuba suffered from the "Havana syndrome" in 2016 and 2017. Similar medical symptoms were reported among US diplomatic staffers in China in 2018. Though Washington assumed the diplomats could have been exposed to some unidentified acoustic attack, it did not reach a definite conclusion on what exactly caused the syndrome.

Williams said he believes the Havana syndrome is real and serious and the CIA is determined to find out what or who is causing it. The CIA director said there have been a couple of hundred incidents of people experiencing the Havana syndrome across the US government and across the world.