The Kremlin said Wednesday that CIA Director John Ratcliffe held talks in Moscow with his intelligence counterparts, a rare and secretive visit at a time when relations with Washington remain strained over Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Ratcliffe did not meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was informed of the contacts that were “on the intelligence agencies’ level.”
“Of course, President Putin is immediately informed of everything,” Peskov added, refusing to say what was discussed.
Russian state news agencies reported that a U.S. military plane landed in Moscow’s Vnukovo airport on Tuesday and departed later that day.
U.S. President Donald Trump played down the significance of Ratcliffe’s trip, saying it was “sort of semi-routine.”
“I hate to disappoint people,” he said on conservative broadcaster Glenn Beck’s radio show Wednesday.
A senior Ukrainian official told The Associated Press that Washington informed Kyiv a delegation would be traveling to
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