Intelligence services: CIA chief in Moscow: Kremlin talks of "horror stories"
CIA chief Ratcliffe is said to have warned Russia of an attack on NATO states. The Kremlin promptly rejected this, and the neighboring Baltic states see the situation as more relaxed.
US-CIA Director John Ratcliffe warned Russia about a possible attack on NATO allies during his visit to Moscow, according to reports from the "Wall Street Journal" and "Politico". The two news outlets cited unnamed sources for their information. Ratcliffe had traveled to the Russian capital on Tuesday for talks, but little was known about the content of his conversations.
The CIA chief had primarily warned Russia, particularly regarding eastern NATO partners in the Baltics, of potential escalation, reported "Politico". Moreover, he urged the Kremlin to reduce military and financial support for Iran. Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskow confirmed to Russian news agencies that Ratcliffe had come to Moscow for "service-to-service" talks with security officials.
Peskow, however, stressed that no meeting between the Kremlin chief and Ratcliffe had taken place. For Ratcliffe, this would likely be his first visit to Moscow as CIA Director. The last known visit by a CIA Director to Russia was in 2021 when William Burns met with Putin. Burns was tasked by then-President Joe Biden to prevent further escalation in the Ukraine conflict. However, Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
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