CIA director visits Putin in Moscow in talks that Trump calls ‘sort of semi-routine’

CIA Director John Ratcliffe journeyed to Moscow for rare and secretive talks with his intelligence colleagues at a time when U.S.-Russia relations remain strained due to Russia's war in Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the visit, stating that Ratcliffe did not meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The discussions took place at an "intelligence agencies' level" and no specific details of the talks have been disclosed.

Russian state news agencies reported that a U.S. military plane landed in Moscow's Vnukovo airport on Tuesday and departed the following day. U.S. President Donald Trump downplayed the significance of Ratcliffe's trip, describing it as "sort of semi-routine." A senior Ukrainian official informed Kyiv of the delegation's arrival in Moscow and requested the suspension of strikes until their departure, though the request did not cover all of Russia.

The official added that strikes on other parts of Russia continued. Kremlin spokesman Peskov emphasized that contacts between intelligence agencies are positive, but stressed that Russia-U.S. relations remain in a "profound crisis." He stated that it was too early to assess the impact of Ratcliffe's visit on the ties between the two countries.

Experts noted that such visits are not common, with visits like Ratcliffe's occurring infrequently due to official channels of communication between Moscow and Washington being maintained since the 1980s.