On Tuesday, CIA Director John Ratcliffe made a trip to Moscow for discussions with Russian officials, as reported by various U.S. media outlets citing anonymous sources.
This marks the first confirmed visit to the Russian capital by a U.S. intelligence chief since Ratcliffe’s predecessor, William Burns, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in November 2021. Roughly three months after that encounter, Putin initiated the invasion of Ukraine.
CBS News and Axios reported on Ratcliffe’s visit, who served as CIA chief under U.S. President Donald Trump and was the Director of National Intelligence during Trump’s first term. The reports did not specify the individuals he was meeting with or the anticipated topics of discussion. Other outlets, including ABC News, CNN, and the Wall Street Journal, also confirmed the meeting’s occurrence.
The CIA opted not to provide any comments regarding the visit. Dmitry Peskov, the spokesperson for the Kremlin, neither confirmed nor denied the information, stating to Reuters that Putin had no plans to meet with Ratcliffe.
Last week, the U.S. government advised Ukraine against executing airstrikes in and around Moscow, St. Petersburg, and certain northern regions of Russia from Monday to Wednesday due to the presence of a U.S. official’s aircraft flying to the Russian capital, as per a source familiar with the situation.
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Trump administration expands U.S. sanctions on Iran targeting countries with business ties to Tehran
The source declined to share further details. The Financial Times was the first to report on the U.S. communication to Ukraine.
On Monday, the U.S. issued a warning to nations to sever business connections with Iran or risk facing secondary sanctions, a strategy intended to intensify economic pressure amid the ongoing U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran that began in February.
No U.S. ambassador to Russia
Currently, the U.S. lacks an ambassador in Russia, a nation that has established a strong strategic alliance with Iran, characterized by extensive military, economic, and diplomatic relationships.
Iran has provided Moscow with drones for its military actions in Ukraine.
In March, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of providing its version of those drones to Iran.
A Ukrainian intelligence analysis reported by Reuters in April indicated that Russia has been assisting Iran with satellite imagery to target U.S. facilities in the Middle East.
Moscow has denied these allegations and stated its willingness to assist in resolving the conflict between the U.S. and Iran.