US spy chief visits Russia for meetings, media reports
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CIA director John Ratcliffe (right) with US President Donald Trump. Ratcliffe’s reported Moscow visit comes as US-brokered talks aimed at ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have stalled.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- CIA Director John Ratcliffe has reportedly visited Moscow, marking his first known trip to Russia as CIA chief, according to US media sources.
- Flight data showed a US military aircraft travelled from the US to Latvia and then to Moscow, supporting reports of Ratcliffe's visit.
- The visit occurs amid stalled US-brokered talks to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine and ongoing tensions involving Iran and Moscow.
AI generated
WASHINGTON – US CIA Director John Ratcliffe travelled to Moscow on Aug 25 for meetings with Russian officials, US media outlets reported, citing unnamed sources.
The visit would be the first known visit to the Russian capital by a US spy chief since Ratcliffe’s predecessor, William Burns, held talks with Vladimir Putin in November 2021.
About three months after that meeting, the Russian president launched Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
CBS News and Axios reported the visit by Ratcliffe, US President Donald Trump’s CIA chief, who served as director of national intelligence in Trump’s first term.
The outlets did not say whom he was meeting or what the talks are expected to cover.
The CIA declined to comment.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov neither confirmed nor denied the report, telling Reuters President Vladimir Putin did not plan to have a meeting with Ratcliffe.
The US last week asked Ukraine not to launch air strikes around Moscow, St. Petersburg, and some northern territories of Russia on Aug 24, Aug 25 and Aug 26 because a plane carrying a senior US official would be flying to the Russian capital, said a source familiar with the matter.
The source declined to provide further information.
The Financial Times first reported the US message to Ukraine.
On Aug 24, the US warned countries to cut business ties with Iran or face secondary sanctions, a move aimed at stepping up economic pressure on Tehran to settle the US-Israeli war on Iran launched in February.
The US has no ambassador to Russia, which maintains a close strategic partnership with Iran involving extensive military, economic and diplomatic ties. Tehran supplied Moscow with drones for its war against Ukraine.
In March, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of supplying its version of those drones to Iran.
A Ukrainian intelligence assessment reported by Reuters in April said that Russia has aided Iran with satellite imagery for use in targeting US facilities in the Middle East.
Moscow denies providing such assistance and has said it is ready to help resolve the US-Iran conflict. REUTERS
