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CIA director John Ratcliffe travelled to Moscow on Tuesday for meetings with Russian officials, U.S. media outlets reported, citing unnamed sources.
It would be the first known visit to the Russian capital by a U.S. spy chief since Ratcliffe’s predecessor, William Burns, held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in November 2021. About three months after that meeting, Putin launched Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
CBS News and Axios reported the visit by Ratcliffe, U.S. 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. ABC News, CNN and the Wall Street Journal also reported the meeting taking place.
The CIA declined to comment, and the Kremlin did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The U.S. last week asked Ukraine not to launch airstrikes around Moscow, St. Petersburg and some northern territories of Russia between Monday and Wednesday of this week because a plane carrying a senior U.S. 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 U.S. message to Ukraine.
On Monday, the U.S. warned countries to cut business ties with Iran or face secondary sanctions, a move aimed at stepping up economic pressure in order to settle the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran launched in February.
No U.S. ambassador to Russia
The U.S. 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.
For critics of Russian President Vladimir Putin who have fled the country, escape doesn’t mean safety. For The National, CBC’s Terence McKenna breaks down how the Kremlin uses transnational repression to intimidate, harass and eliminate enemies beyond Russia’s borders.
In March, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy 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 U.S. facilities in the Middle East.
Moscow denies providing such assistance and has said it is ready to help resolve the U.S.-Iran conflict.
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