A US military transport plane made an unusual and high-profile trip from Riga to Moscow on Tuesday, which was initially met with silence from the countries involved.
Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Russian leader, told The Washington Post that CIA Director John Ratcliffe came to Moscow and that the purpose of the visit was “contacts between intelligence services.” Peskov has made it clear to Russian media that no meeting with Putin took place.
US President Donald Trump confirmed in an interview with conservative radio personality Glenn Beck that Ratcliffe was in Russia. Trump downplayed the visit but suggested that the issue of the war in Ukraine was on the agenda:
"I hate to disappoint people. We would like to see the war with Ukraine end," Trump said, according to AFP.
Neither the US nor Russia has commented on the meeting in further detail.
Last before the war
The last time a CIA director visited Moscow was, as far as is known, in November 2021. Then Ratcliffe's predecessor William Burns traveled there to warn the Russian regime, as the United States had received information that Russia was preparing to invade Ukraine.
Before becoming CIA director, John Ratcliffe was involved in negotiations for prisoner exchanges between the US and Russia. Information in Russian Telegram channels claims that he had a similar case this time, reports the Efe news agency.
Secret decrees
The case is said to be about American Charles Zimmerman, a 58-year-old US veteran who was sentenced to five years in prison for arms smuggling earlier this year. Zimmerman's sister said he had been sailing in the Black Sea and was heading to Russia to meet a woman he had met online. The sister said he was stopped outside Sochi, taken ashore and arrested for having a rifle on board.
Vladimir Putin signed three secret presidential decrees on Tuesday, according to Russian media reports cited by Efe.
Media in Ukraine report that the US asked the country to refrain from new attacks on Moscow and St. Petersburg in connection with Ratcliffe's visit.
