Kremlin says CIA head spoke with Russian secret services, not Putin

Moscow - Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated on Wednesday that CIA Director John Radcliffe did not meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin during his recent visit to Moscow. Instead, Radcliffe had "contacts" with Russia's special services, though the Kremlin did not provide details on the subjects of these discussions. Radcliffe had arrived in Moscow on an unannounced trip on Tuesday, marking one of the highest-ranking US officials to visit Russia since the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine in 2022.

Peskov informed that Putin was briefed on the talks but declined to disclose whether the Ukraine war was among the topics discussed. The visit occurred amidst an escalation in Moscow's military campaign, with attacks this summer resulting in a higher civilian death toll. Additionally, US-brokered peace talks have been experiencing a stalemate.

Peskov acknowledged that "contacts through the intelligence services are a positive development in and of themselves," but cautioned that it is too early to determine how this will impact the progress toward resolving the tension in their relations. The last time a CIA director visited Moscow was in November 2021, when William Burns cautioned Russia against deploying troops into Ukraine. Following this, the Kremlin initiated its military operation, which led to Europe's worst conflict since World War II.

Ukraine has been embroiled in a prolonged conflict, resulting in hundreds of thousands of casualties. The Kremlin has refused to modify its demands to incorporate the remaining portion of eastern Ukraine. Neither the White House nor the CIA have issued any comments on Radcliffe's visit.