During his brief visit to Moscow, CIA Director John Ratcliffe warned Russia not to attack US allies in NATO. This was reported by "Politico", citing two unnamed sources and a British government official. According to them, Ratcliffe told his Russian interlocutors that an escalation of the conflict, which includes the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia in particular, is unacceptable for the United States.
Trump: the goal is to end the war
Warning to Russia not to attack NATO countries – This was the purpose of the CIA director's visit to Moscow, according to sources at the “Wall Street Journal“. John Ratcliffe is considered a “hawk“ on Russia, recalls “Politico“.
In a radio interview, US President Donald Trump, for his part, rejected suggestions that Ratcliffe had gone to Moscow to convince Putin not to test NATO's resolve and not to attack Britain, which this week promised to double its support for Ukraine. Trump described the visit as “semi-routine“ and said that the goal was to end the war. “I don't want to disappoint people. We would like the war with Ukraine to end,“ he said.
Reducing support for Iran
Ratcliffe used the unannounced advance trip to Moscow to put pressure on Russia to reduce its military and economic support for Iran, „Politico" also writes.
In order to ensure Ratcliffe's safe trip to Moscow, the United States has asked Ukraine not to carry out drone and long-range missile strikes in the area of the Russian capital on August 24, 25 and 26, a reporter for the British newspaper „Financial Times" reported. The information was also confirmed by the „RBK-Ukraine“ agency, which in turn refers to a reliable source.
History repeating itself?
A CIA director has traveled to Moscow on a similar mission before. In November 2021, then-US President Joe Biden sent CIA Director James Burns to meet with President Vladimir Putin to warn him not to invade Ukraine. Three months later, Russia invaded Ukraine, recalls „Politico".
According to the NATO Treaty, an armed attack on one member state is considered an attack on all member states. But for years, Russia has used a variety of tactics that fall short of war — including sabotage operations and cyberattacks — to undermine the positions of US allies in Europe without provoking larger-scale retaliation.