CIA chief in Moscow for unannounced talks, US media reports
The director of the US Central Intelligence Agency, John Ratcliffe, has travelled to Moscow for unannounced talks, according to reporting by the BBC's US partner CBS. Neither Washington nor Moscow has confirmed who he met or what the visit concerned, but face-to-face meetings between senior American and Russian officials remain rare, making the trip notable amid strained relations since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Flight tracking data showed a US military C-17 transport plane flying to Moscow via Latvia on Tuesday, departing Riga at 05:50 GMT and landing at Vnukovo airport around 07:04 GMT. This appears to be Ratcliffe's first visit to Russia as CIA director; he previously helped negotiate prisoner releases, including that of Russian-American Ksenia Karelina and, in 2024, journalist Evan Gershkovich, marine Paul Whelan and journalist Alsu Kurmasheva. He is thought to be among the most senior US officials to visit Russia during Donald Trump's second term, which has so far included an inconclusive Trump-Putin summit in Alaska and stalled peace talks over Ukraine.
In short
- CIA chief John Ratcliffe made an unannounced visit to Moscow
- US military plane tracked flying from Latvia to Moscow on Tuesday
- Comes amid stalled US-led Russia-Ukraine peace talks
Explained simply
The CIA is the United States’ foreign intelligence agency, and its director is a senior figure in the US government. John Ratcliffe has previously been involved in negotiations over the release of prisoners held in Russia, including American journalist Evan Gershkovich in 2024.
Relations between the US and Russia have been strained since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Direct meetings between senior officials from the two countries have been uncommon, while efforts to reach an agreement over Ukraine have made little progress.
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