Kremlin confirms CIA chief held security talks in Moscow

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow on Wednesday that CIA Director John Ratcliffe held discussions with Russian security service representatives during an unannounced visit to the Russian capital the previous day, marking the first such high-level contact since 2021.

Security service contacts

"I can only tell you that there were contacts through special services," Peskov said during a regular press briefing, referring to Ratcliffe's trip on Tuesday. The Kremlin spokesman emphasized that no meeting took place between the CIA chief and President Vladimir Putin, and he declined to elaborate on the substance of the security discussions.

Flight details and reports

A US Air Force C-17A Globemaster III transport aircraft flew from Riga, Latvia to Moscow's Vnukovo Airport on Tuesday after arriving in the Baltic state two days earlier from Camp Springs near Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, according to flight tracking data. The aircraft departed Moscow and returned to Riga later that evening, Flightradar24 data showed, while CBS News reported citing sources that Ratcliffe was in the Russian capital for meetings. Axios reported that Washington had requested Kyiv to suspend strikes against Russian targets while the senior US delegation was in Moscow, citing a source familiar with the communications.

Diplomatic context

Peskov characterized the security contacts as a "positive phenomenon, a positive process" but cautioned that it remains premature to discuss any resolution to the "profound crisis" in bilateral relations. No presidential-level contacts between Moscow and Washington are currently planned, he added, noting that the visit marked the first by a CIA director to Moscow since William Burns traveled there in 2021.