CIA Director John Ratcliffe used a rare, previously undisclosed visit to Moscow to warn Russian officials against escalating the conflict against U.S. allies in NATO, particularly Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, while also pressing Moscow to scale back its military and economic support for Iran.
اضافة اعلان
Warning the Baltic States
According to Politico, Ratcliffe warned Russian officials during his visit against launching attacks on NATO member states. Two people familiar with the matter said the visit took place on Tuesday and was also used to pressure Russia over its military and economic support for Iran.
One person familiar with the trip and a British official said Ratcliffe raised the issue of Russia's support for Iran during the visit. The three individuals were granted anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. The U.S. administration did not officially acknowledge the trip until Wednesday morning.
News of Ratcliffe's visit to Russia sparked widespread speculation in Washington and Europe, as it was the first known trip by a CIA director to Moscow during President Donald Trump's current term.
The first source familiar with the trip said the meeting was primarily intended to warn Russia against taking any escalatory action against the Baltic states. The Wall Street Journal had earlier reported that Ratcliffe warned Russia against attacking NATO countries.
According to publicly available flight-tracking data, the C-17 military aircraft carrying Ratcliffe to Moscow departed from Latvia.
Trump's Remarks
Trump denied speculation in a radio interview Wednesday morning that Ratcliffe's visit was aimed at persuading Russian President Vladimir Putin not to test NATO's resolve or attack the United Kingdom, which pledged this week to increase its support for Ukraine.
Trump described the visit as “fairly routine”, while acknowledging that it was intended to help bring the war to an end.
“I hate to disappoint people. We would like to see the war with Ukraine end,” Trump said.
Under the NATO treaty, an armed attack against one member is considered an attack against all members. Russia, however, has for years used tactics short of outright warfare, including sabotage and cyberattacks, to undermine U.S. allies in Europe.
Pressure Over Iran
Alongside the NATO issue, Ratcliffe also pressed Russia to reduce its military and economic support for Iran, according to one person familiar with the trip and a British official briefed on it.
The British official said Ratcliffe expressed a desire for Moscow to stop sharing weapons and defense technology with Iran and advised Russia not to “overreact” if it were affected by U.S. sanctions.
The discussions came after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent threatened Monday to significantly expand sanctions against countries that refuse to sever their economic ties with Iran.
Reports indicate that Russia has shipped materials to Iran to strengthen its drone arsenal and may assist Tehran in conducting precision strikes against U.S. facilities in the Middle East.
Ratcliffe's Recent Moves
Ratcliffe secretly traveled to Cuba in May to warn the communist government that it needed to undertake major reforms or face an intensified U.S. pressure campaign.
While lawmakers were largely unaware of the details of his Moscow trip, Republican Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma said Tuesday that he welcomed the initiative.
Speaking after a trip to Ukraine, Lankford said, according to Politico:
“Things don't get better through silence. Russia doesn't appear to be focused right now on trying to resolve anything, but we need to be able to understand its endgame.”
