CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Moscow on Tuesday for meetings with Russian officials, according to U.S. media reports citing people familiar with the visit.
The trip would mark the first known visit by a serving U.S. intelligence chief to Moscow since former CIA Director William Burns met Russian President Vladimir Putin there in November 2021. Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine about three months later.
Ratcliffe Visit to Moscow Reported by US Media
CBS News and Axios reported that Ratcliffe traveled to the Russian capital. The outlets cited unnamed sources but did not identify the Russian officials he planned to meet.
They also did not disclose the expected agenda for the talks.
The CIA declined to comment on the reports. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also stopped short of confirming the visit.
Peskov told Reuters that Putin did not plan to meet Ratcliffe during the CIA chief’s trip.
US Warned Ukraine About Air Strikes
The reported visit comes after Washington asked Ukraine to avoid air strikes around Moscow and St. Petersburg during three days this week, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The request also covered some northern Russian territories. The source said a plane carrying a senior U.S. official would travel to Moscow during that period.
The source did not provide further details. The Financial Times first reported the U.S. message to Ukraine.
The reported security request has added further attention to Ratcliffe’s trip as Washington and Moscow continue to navigate sensitive relations.
Russia Maintains Ties With Iran
Ratcliffe’s reported visit also comes as the United States increases pressure on Iran.
Washington warned countries on Monday to reduce business ties with Tehran or face secondary sanctions. The move aims to increase economic pressure on Iran amid the ongoing U.S.-Israeli conflict with Tehran.
Russia maintains close strategic relations with Iran across military, economic and diplomatic areas.
Iran previously supplied drones to Russia for use in its war against Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Moscow in March of providing Iran with its own version of those drones.
A Ukrainian intelligence assessment reported by Reuters in April also alleged that Russia had provided Iran with satellite imagery that could help target U.S. facilities in the Middle East.
Moscow Denies Helping Iran Target US
Russia has denied providing such assistance to Iran.
Moscow has also said it remains willing to help resolve the conflict between the United States and Iran.
The reported John Ratcliffe Moscow visit therefore comes at a particularly sensitive moment, with Washington dealing simultaneously with the war in Ukraine, growing tensions with Iran and its broader relationship with Russia.
For now, neither the CIA nor the Kremlin has publicly confirmed the details of Ratcliffe’s reported meetings in Moscow.
