US Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe talked in Moscow with representatives of the Russian authorities about the war in Ukraine and the conflict with Iran, American media reported, including the “Wall Street Journal“, BTA reports.
Earlier, CBS reported that Ratcliffe was on a secret visit to the Russian capital. However, the visit has not been officially confirmed. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that no meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the CIA director is planned.
According to the “Wall Street Journal“ One of the possible goals of the visit is to check Moscow's readiness to resume negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, after Washington's diplomatic efforts have so far failed.
Another possible topic was the relationship between Russia and Iran. The US side is interested in possible Russian provision of intelligence information to Tehran, which may have contributed to Iranian strikes on American military facilities in the Middle East.
According to the specialized website Flightradar24, the plane that is believed to have been carrying Ratcliffe has already left Moscow.
Against this background “Axios“ reported that the administration of US President Donald Trump has asked Ukraine not to carry out strikes in certain areas of Russia, including Moscow, St. Petersburg and the northern parts of the country, so as not to endanger the CIA director's plane.
Meanwhile, the exchange of drone strikes between Russia and Ukraine continued. The governor of the Tambov region, Yevgeny Pervishov, reported an attack on a logistics center of the Russian e-commerce company Wildberries. A large fire has broken out in the city of Kotovsk.
Former British military attaché in Moscow John Foreman told the BBC that the Americans do not usually send such a high-ranking representative to the Russian capital without prior warning and at short notice, unless an emergency situation has arisen.
According to him, the visit may be related to a reaction to a possible escalation, including against the background of information about drone incidents in Germany, for which a possible Russian connection is being investigated.
Foreman also admitted the possibility that Ratcliffe participated in talks on the release of American citizens detained in Russia. He recalled that the CIA director had a role in the release of Ksenia Karelina, who holds Russian and American citizenship.
Meanwhile, Russian Ombudsman Yana Lantratova told TASS that Russia and Ukraine are preparing a new exchange of a large number of prisoners of war. This comes after the last exchange, in which the two sides handed over 103 servicemen.
There has been no official confirmation from Washington or Moscow yet about the nature and results of Ratcliffe's visit.