CIA chief in Moscow for unannounced talks, US media reports
· World · BBC News, Al Jazeera, NDTV
CIA Director John Ratcliffe travelled to Moscow on Tuesday for unannounced talks, the BBC's US news partner CBS reported, marking what is believed to be his first visit to Russia since taking the post. Flight tracking data showed a US C-17 military transport plane departed Riga, Latvia, at 05:50 GMT and landed at Moscow's Vnukovo international airport around 07:04 GMT, with social media footage appearing to show a diplomatic motorcade in the city. Neither the CIA, the White House, the Pentagon, nor the Russian government has confirmed the purpose of the visit or identified who Ratcliffe is meeting. The trip comes amid stalled US-led peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, following Trump's Alaska summit with Putin last year that produced no breakthrough. Ratcliffe has previously helped negotiate the release of detained Americans in Russia, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in a 2024 prisoner swap.
Why it matters
The visit places one of the highest-ranking US officials of Trump's second term inside Russia at a moment when Ukraine peace efforts have stalled, signalling possible behind-the-scenes diplomacy on the war or on further prisoner exchanges. Any breakthrough — or breakdown — would reshape US-Russia relations and have direct consequences for the trajectory of the Ukraine conflict.
Read the original report — BBC News
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