CIA Chief Holds Talks With Russian Intelligence

CIA Director John Ratcliffe held talks with Russian intelligence officials during a visit to Moscow but did not meet President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin said on Wednesday. US President Donald Trump described the trip as “semi-routine”.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin had been briefed on the outcome of Tuesday’s visit but declined to say what had been discussed or provide further details.

“All I can tell you is that there have been contacts via the security services. I can tell you that there have been no meetings with the Russian president. Naturally, President Putin is kept informed of everything without delay”, Peskov said.

In a radio interview on Wednesday, Trump did not specify the purpose of Ratcliffe’s trip but said it could prove useful.

“Now something may come ... out of it. We’re working very hard to get that war ended”, Trump told the Glenn Beck Program, referring to the war in Ukraine.

Asked whether Ratcliffe had traveled to Moscow to discuss possible Russian moves to test NATO or sanctions against Iran, Trump replied: “None of the above. He’s there, you know, very sort of semi-routine.”

The last known visit to Moscow by a CIA director was in November 2021, when Ratcliffe’s predecessor, William Burns, held talks with Putin. The visit came three months before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

(Reuters, luc)