CIA Head’s Visit to Moscow Described as ‘Semi-Routine’ by Trump
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CIA head’s visit to Moscow was ‘semi-routine’, says Trump
Image source: EPA
Image caption: CIA director John Ratcliffe pictured in Washington earlier this year
By Gabriela Pomeroy
Published 26 August 2026, 12:27 BST
Updated 2 minutes ago
Donald Trump has characterized an unannounced meeting between the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) chief and Russian intelligence figures as "semi-routine."
There has been speculation surrounding why John Ratcliffe personally attended talks in Moscow on Tuesday. He arrived on a military plane and left hours later.
The US President declined to disclose the topics discussed during the rare meeting, suggesting that "something may come out of" it, adding that Washington "would like to see the war in Ukraine end."
Earlier, the Kremlin dismissed speculation that Ratcliffe met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"There were contacts with the intelligence services," said Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov during a daily briefing.
"There were no meetings with the president of Russia. That’s all I can say on the subject. Naturally, President Putin is briefed immediately about everything."
Peskov made these comments in response to queries from reporters, including those from Rossiyskaya Gazeta and the BBC’s Russia Editor Steve Rosenberg.
It remains unclear what impact this meeting will have on repairing US-Russian relations, with Peskov noting that it was "too early" to assess its potential effect. He did, however, describe such contacts as "a positive phenomenon".
Prior to Ratcliffe’s trip, the US informed Ukraine about the delegation’s travel plans and requested they suspend airstrikes until the CIA team had left, according to a senior Ukrainian official cited by CBS.
No official comment has been issued by the CIA, White House, or Pentagon regarding Ratcliffe’s visit.
Ratcliffe appears to be one of the highest-ranking US officials to visit Russia during President Trump’s second term. The last CIA director to travel to Moscow was William Burns in November 2021, who warned Russia against invading Ukraine; weeks later, the Kremlin launched its full-scale war on Ukraine. Since then, US-Russian relations have been strained, with both countries facing international sanctions.
John Foreman, a former British military attachรฉ to Moscow (2019-2022), told BBC Radio 4’s PM program: "The Americans don’t normally send such a high ranking official to Moscow unannounced at this time."
