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CIA Director John Ratcliffe travels to Moscow for talks
The visit comes after the US warned countries to cut business ties with Iran or face secondary sanctions, as Washington seeks added economic pressure on Tehran.
US CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Moscow on Tuesday for meetings with Russian officials, according to US media outlets that cited unnamed sources, Reuters reported. The trip would be the first known visit to the Russian capital by a US spy chief since Ratcliffe’s predecessor, William Burns, met with Vladimir Putin in November 2021.
Reuters said the outlets did not identify who Ratcliffe was meeting or what the discussions would cover. The CIA declined to comment, and the Kremlin did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The report noted that the Kremlin talks would take place roughly three months after Putin’s November 2021 meeting with Burns, which preceded Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Reuters also pointed to a separate US policy push, saying that on Monday the US warned countries to cut business ties with Iran or face secondary sanctions, a move aimed at increasing economic pressure on Tehran to settle the war that President Donald Trump launched in February. Reuters added that the US has no ambassador to Russia, and that Russia maintains a close strategic partnership with Iran involving extensive military, economic, and diplomatic ties.