CIA chief reportedly warned Russia against attacking NATO

CIA director John Ratcliffe reportedly warned Russia against attacking NATO allies. That is according to the Wall Street Journal and Politico magazine, citing anonymous sources. The warning reportedly came during Ratcliffe's visit to Moscow on Tuesday.

Little is known so far about the actual content of the talks. According to Politico, the head of the US intelligence agency warned the Kremlin against an escalation, particularly regarding NATO's Baltic allies. Ratcliffe reportedly also urged Russia to reduce its military and financial support for Iran.

On Wednesday, local time, US President Donald Trump confirmed that Ratcliffe had been in Russia. He did so during the radio show hosted by Glenn Beck. Trump denied, however, that the trip was linked to a possible Russian move against NATO or to the conflict with Iran, calling the visit "a kind of semi-routine" trip. The president added that he hoped the war in Ukraine would end.

Kremlin denies meeting with Putin

Russian news agencies reported comments from Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov. Peskov confirmed that Ratcliffe had traveled to Moscow for talks between intelligence services, but stressed that there was no meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the CIA chief.

This would reportedly be Ratcliffe's first visit to Moscow as CIA director. The last known visit by a US intelligence chief to Russia dates back to 2021, when then-director William Burns traveled to the country on behalf of President Joe Biden, with the goal of preventing an escalation of the conflict in Ukraine. On February 24, 2022, Putin nevertheless launched his war of aggression against Ukraine.