The rare exchange between SVR and CIA signals a potential shift in Washington-Moscow relations.

The heads of the U.S. and Russian intelligence agencies spoke by phone and agreed to maintain regular contact in an effort to ease tensions between the two countries, Russian state media reported Wednesday.

John Ratcliffe, Director of the US Central Intelligence Agency, and Sergei Naryshkin, Director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, held a telephone conversation on 11 March. Source: European Pravda,