The Kremlin has confirmed that CIA Director John Ratcliffe visited Moscow for contacts between U.S. and Russian intelligence officials, but said he did not meet Russian President Vladimir Putin during the trip.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russia’s state-run TASS news agency that no meeting between Ratcliffe and Putin had been planned, without providing further details.
The visit was Ratcliffe’s first official trip to Russia since taking over as CIA director last year. He traveled to Moscow on an unannounced visit aboard a U.S. military aircraft that flew from Latvia, landing at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport on Tuesday before departing the Russian capital later the same day.
Ratcliffe has maintained contacts with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Naryshkin, head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), who had previously indicated that he was prepared to meet with the CIA director.
The reported visit comes as Washington and Moscow continue to maintain intelligence-level contacts despite deep disagreements over Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Washington reportedly asked Kyiv to pause strikes
Ukrainian officials told local media that Washington asked Kyiv to temporarily halt attacks on Moscow and St. Petersburg while Ratcliffe was in Russia.
The reported request would underscore the sensitivity surrounding the intelligence chief’s visit, although the full circumstances and scope of the alleged pause were not immediately clear.
According to reports, Ratcliffe’s discussions may have included a possible Russian-Ukrainian moratorium on attacks against energy infrastructure and ports, as well as a potential ceasefire arrangement in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions.
Such measures would potentially represent limited confidence-building steps rather than a comprehensive peace agreement.
Contacts continue despite stalled peace efforts
Ratcliffe’s visit comes as diplomatic efforts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine remain stalled.
Washington has continued pursuing contacts with Moscow, including repeated visits to Russia by President Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. However, major differences between Moscow and Kyiv remain, particularly over territorial issues.
The intelligence channel could provide Washington with another avenue for testing Russian positions and discussing possible de-escalation measures at a time when formal negotiations remain blocked.
The Kremlin’s confirmation that Ratcliffe was in Moscow, while emphasizing that no meeting with Putin was scheduled, also suggests that the visit was focused primarily on intelligence and security contacts rather than a high-level political engagement.
For now, however, there is no indication that the Moscow visit has produced a breakthrough in the broader Russia-Ukraine peace process.
