Kremlin says US spy chief met with Russian counterparts during Moscow visit

U.S. CIA Director John Ratcliffe spoke with ​Russian intelligence officials during a visit to Moscow ‌but ​did not meet President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin said on Wednesday of a trip that U.S. President Donald Trump described as "semi-routine."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Putin had been ‌briefed on the outcome of Tuesday's visit, which came as the war in Ukraine drags on and as efforts to reach a lasting peace between the United States and Iran have stalled. Peskov declined to say what had been discussed ‌or to provide any further details.

"All I can tell you is that there have been contacts via the security ‌services. I can tell you that there have been no meetings with the Russian president. Naturally, President Putin is kept informed of everything without delay," said Peskov. Trump, in a radio interview on Wednesday, did not say specifically why Ratcliffe had travelled to Moscow but said it could ⁠prove ​useful.

"Now something may come ... out ⁠of it. We're working very hard to get that war ended," Trump told the Glenn Beck Program, referring to the war in Ukraine. Asked ⁠whether the CIA chief went to Moscow to discuss potential Russian action to test the NATO military alliance or to discuss Iran ​sanctions, Trump added: "None of the above. He's there, you know, very sort of semi-routine."

The last known visit ⁠by a U.S. CIA director to the Russian capital took place when Ratcliffe's predecessor William Burns held talks with Putin in November 2021, three ⁠months ​the war in Ukraine began. Asked if visits by such senior U.S. officials could help improve the dire state of U.S.-Russia relations, Peskov said that contacts between the two countries' intelligence agencies were a positive thing.

"These contacts often continue ⁠even during the most difficult periods in bilateral relations. Our president, incidentally, has spoken about this. However, it is still ⁠too early to say to what ⁠extent this will, overall, help to steer our bilateral relations out of the profound crisis in which they currently find themselves," he said.