Image source, Getty Images
John Ratcliffe, director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), has arrived in Moscow for unannounced talks, according to the American news partner CBS.
Ratcliffe arrived in the Russian capital on Tuesday. Neither Washington nor Moscow has confirmed the nature of the visit or whom he is meeting.
Personal meetings between high-ranking US and Russian officials have become rare.
Flight tracking data confirmed that on Tuesday, Ratcliffe arrived in Russia aboard a large US military aircraft via Latvia. The plane departed late on Tuesday.
Official responses have been sought from the CIA, the White House, and the Pentagon.
Footage posted on social media shows the C-17 aircraft landing at Moscow’s Zhukovsky International Airport.
According to data released by Flightradar24, the plane took off from Riga Airport at 05:50 GMT and landed in the Russian capital at 07:04 GMT. The aircraft had returned to Riga by 17:00 GMT the same day.
Social media posts also showed a diplomatic convoy traveling through Moscow. A senior Ukrainian official told CBS that a high-level US and Ukrainian delegation visited Moscow to urge Russia to halt the attack on Kyiv.
This is understood to be Ratcliffe’s first visit to Russia, although he has maintained contact with his intelligence counterparts in Moscow.
British military attaché John Foreman, who worked in Moscow from 2009 to 2022, suggested on Radio Four’s PM program that the visit might focus on ‘managing aggression,’ especially in light of drone activity in Germany suspected to be linked to Russia.
He said, “The Americans do not send such a senior official unannounced to Moscow unless something significant is underway.”
Foreman also noted the visit might raise concerns about recently detained Americans in Russia.
Ratcliffe is also believed to potentially play a role in negotiations for the release of Kseniya Karellina, a Russian-American citizen imprisoned in Russia for over a year on charges related to support for Ukraine.
The CIA also helped broker a prisoner exchange deal with Russia in 2024, resulting in the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former US Navy pilot Paul Whelan, and Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva.
Since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, US-Russia relations have deteriorated sharply. Russia has become increasingly isolated on the global stage and faces widespread international economic sanctions.
Ratcliffe remains among the senior US officials who traveled to Russia during Donald Trump’s second term in office.
A summit in Alaska last year between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin was unsuccessful, and subsequently, US-led peace talks between Russia and Ukraine have stalled.
Additional reporting by Washington correspondent Daniel Bush and verification by BBC.
The news service is also available on YouTube. To subscribe and watch published videos, click here. Our content can also be found on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The program is also broadcast on radio from Monday to Friday at 8:45 PM.
