EPA

 

 

Donald Trump has said "something may come out of" Tuesday's unannounced meeting between the head of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and figures from Russia's intelligence services.

There has been speculation over why John Ratcliffe went to Moscow on Tuesday, arriving on board a military plane and leaving hours later.

The US president did not disclose what was discussed during the unconventional talks, but described the meeting as "semi-routine", adding that Washington "would like to see the war in Ukraine end".

The last comparable meeting taking place in the months leading up to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The Kremlin said Ratcliffe had not met Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"There were contacts with the intelligence services," Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"There were no meetings with the president of Russia. That's all I can say on the subject. Naturally, President Putin is briefed immediately about everything," he added.

Peskov made the comments in response to a question at his daily press briefing from a reporter at the Russian newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta, who asked if Vladimir Putin was informed about the CIA chief meetings and "at what level" they were held.

Putin's spokesman was also asked by the BBC's Russia Editor Steve Rosenberg what was the topic of the CIA talks.

"I have nothing to add to what I've already said on the subject," Peskov replied.

On Wednesday morning, Trump spoke with conservative talk show host Glenn Beck who asked about "speculation that is crazy" surrounding the visit.

Trump responded, calling the visit "semi-routine". He said he hated "to disappoint people", but that none of the rumours surrounding the visit were accurate.

It was too early to say what impact this meeting would have over repairing bilateral US-Russian relations, he said, telling reporters: "How much this will impact the overall process of recovering our bilateral relations from the profound crisis they're currently in, it is premature to say."

But contacts between intelligence agencies are "a positive phenomenon, a positive process," Peskov added, saying they often continue "even during the most difficult moments" in relations between the two countries.

Ahead of the trip, the US told Ukraine that a senior delegation would be travelling to Moscow and asked Kyiv to suspend strikes until they had left, a senior Ukrainian official told CBS.

There has been no official comment on Ratcliffe's visit from the CIA, White House or Pentagon.

The trip was likely made to issue a blunt warning to Moscow to stop its non-conventional warfare campaign against NATO countries, analysts told the BBC. Russia experts said it was unclear whether Moscow would heed any such warning.

It was Ratcliffe's first known visit to Russia since the start of President Trump's second term. Washington and Moscow have maintained direct communication on intelligence and security issues, despite having strained relations over Russia's war with Ukraine.

The last time a CIA director visited Moscow was in November 2021, when William Burns warned Russia against sending troops into Ukraine. Weeks later, the Kremlin launched its full-scale war on Ukraine.

Since then, the US has had strained relations with Russia, which has been isolated on the world stage and faced international economic sanctions.

Ratcliffe's visit came during an increase in Russian aggression toward Nato allies over the past year, including drone or military aircraft flights over Poland, Romania and Latvia.

Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin at a summit in Alaska last year but the meeting did not lead to a breakthrough. Subsequent US-led peace talks between Russia and Ukraine appear to have stalled.

John Foreman, who served as a British military attaché to Moscow between 2019 and 2022, told Radio 4's PM programme: "The Americans don't normally send such a high ranking official to Moscow unannounced at short notice unless something is up."

EPA