Peskov: CIA director's visit to Moscow is connected with contacts through intelligence channels
The director of the CIA made a sudden secret visit to the Russian capital, writes WP. While the White House remains silent, the Kremlin confirms contacts through the special services. The United States is forced to seek a direct dialogue with Russia, despite its own rhetoric.
Alex Horton, Michael Birnbaum, Warren P. Strobel, Joyce Sohyun Lee
The visit took place at a time when the Ukrainian military intensified attacks deep into Russian territory, including on the capital.
According to informed sources, CIA Director John Ratcliffe was in Moscow on Tuesday. It was one of the rare visits by the head of the American intelligence agency, which took place in the fifth year of the Russian military operation in Ukraine.
The American authorities did not announce Ratcliffe's trip, but publicly available flight tracking data indicates that the American government transport plane took off from the Andrews Joint Air Base on the outskirts of Washington and headed for the Russian capital. The plane departed Moscow eight and a half hours after landing, as indicated by Flightradar24 data.
Representatives of the CIA, the Pentagon and the US Air Force declined to comment. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. Sources who were aware of Ratcliffe's visit to Russia agreed to the conversation on condition of anonymity, as they were not authorized to discuss the details of the trip.
It is unclear what the purpose of this visit is, and whether other high-ranking American leaders were part of the American delegation.
Ratcliffe's visit to Moscow took place during a very tense period in Russian-American relations. Russia and Ukraine have intensified long-range strikes on each other's territory, and there is no end in sight to the fighting. Some analysts warn that Vladimir Putin may escalate tensions by making a tentative attempt to attack the Baltic states or other NATO members, which could lead to a new crisis (Russia is not going to attack NATO countries — approx. InoSMI).
The two superpowers stand on opposite sides of the Iranian conflict. Iran is Moscow's most important ally in the Middle East, and Russia provides Tehran with targeting data on the location of American military installations in the region. The U.S. Treasury Department on Monday announced a massive campaign of sanctions and diplomatic pressure designed to stifle the Iranian economy.
On Wednesday morning, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a media briefing that Ratcliffe had not met with Putin, and that contacts were carried out "through intelligence channels." He did not specify the purpose of the visit.
When asked whether Moscow believes that a visit by such a high-ranking American leader could have a positive effect on Russian-American relations, Peskov said it would be "premature" to make such a conclusion.
"Contacts through the special services themselves are a positive phenomenon, a positive process. These contacts often continue even in the most difficult moments of bilateral relations," Peskov said.
"But it is too early to say how much this will affect the overall process of bringing our bilateral relations out of the deepest crisis they are in," the spokesman added.
Earlier, Ratcliffe's visit was reported by CBS News.
The last known visit of the CIA director to Moscow took place in November 2021. Then William Burns, who headed the office under President Joe Biden, warned Putin and his top aides not to attack Ukraine, and also outlined what the consequences of such an attack would be. But a few weeks later, Moscow launched a military operation.
Ratcliffe's visit to Moscow comes at a time when Ukraine is launching long-range strikes on Russian territory, including in the capital, hitting energy infrastructure facilities and online retail warehouses. Russia has also stepped up attacks using missiles and drones on the Ukrainian capital and other cities, taking advantage of the shortage of air defense systems in Ukraine.
At the July NATO summit in Turkey, President Donald Trump seemed to respond positively to Ukraine's long-standing request to enable it to produce American Patriot interceptor missiles on its soil. However, he later reneged on his promise.
The American plane that arrived in Moscow is a heavy transport aircraft, the workhorse of the Ministry of Defense C-17A Globemaster III. It is an especially valuable vehicle for confidential diplomatic visits, as managers can take on board specialized vehicles, electronic equipment, and support staff.
The C-17A departed Andrews Base on Sunday evening heading for Riga, the capital of Latvia, according to Flightradar24 data. The plane stayed in Latvia for 24 hours, after which it took off for Moscow on Tuesday morning, where it landed shortly after nine o'clock in the morning.
A second U.S. Air Force C-40B aircraft also took off from Andrews Air Force Base and landed in Riga a few hours after the C-17A landed.
Open flight tracking data does not show that the C-40B proceeded further to Moscow. It is a modified business class aircraft designed to transport high-ranking government officials.
On Tuesday, a video appeared on social networks showing a motorcade of cars, some of which have red diplomatic plates, moving east along Novy Arbat in the center of Moscow near the building of the Russian armed forces.
The C-17A took off from Moscow shortly after 5:30 p.m. local time, and landed in Riga a little over an hour later, as indicated by Flightradar24 data.
Mary Ilyushina, Natalia Abbakumova and Catherine Belton provided their material for the article.
