CIA Director’s Trip to Russia Shrouded in Mystery

President Trump on Wednesday called the visit of his CIA Director to Moscow “somewhat routine,” while the Kremlin confirmed that John Ratcliffe had not met directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin during his brief time in Russia.The trip to Moscow by Mr. Ratcliffe touched off a fury of speculation on both sides of the Atlantic, and a lack of clarity about Mr. Ratcliffe’s mission that neither side seemed eager to put into focus.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Wednesday that Mr. Ratcliffe’s visit involved “contacts between security services” and declined to elaborate further.In an interview with Glenn Beck Wednesday, Mr. Trump ruled out several theories for the meetings, including a test of NATO resolve or a conversation about Iranian sanctions.“I hate to disappoint people, the president said. “We would like to see the war with Ukraine end.”Photos showed Mr. Ratcliffe arriving at the White House later Wednesday along with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine.On Tuesday, Mr. Ratcliffe took a massive C-17A Globemaster III cargo plane from Riga, Latvia — a NATO nation on the Baltic Sea — to Vnukovo International Airport south of Moscow and went by motorcade to the Kremlin. After approximately eight hours on the ground, the C-17 was aloft again and landed back in Riga.Shortly afterward, a US government jet that carries a suite of secure communications equipment and typically ferries VIPs left Riga bound for the United States.Vatican envoy Archbishop Paul Gallagher was also in Moscow Tuesday, meeting publicly with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. At a press event, Mr. Gallagher said his talks with the Russians included bilateral issues like the fate of Catholics in Russia, but also extensive discussions about the war in Ukraine.Mr. Gallagher called for “authentic negotiations” to reach a “just and lasting peace.” He did not mention Mr. Ratcliffe or the United States in his public remarks.Mr. Ratcliffe’s trip also came amid rising Russian tensions with Germany after a thwarted August 4 drone attack on Leipzig/Halle Airport. The airport is a military transportation hub for Germany’s military and NATO forces as well as for Ukrainian civilian cargo flights.Authorities are preparing to publicly unmask those behind the failed attack.“They will pay for this,” German Chancellor Fredrich Merz said prior to a Cabinet meeting in Brandenberg Tuesday.Former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt said he believed Mr. Ratcliffe went to Moscow to deliver a warning to Mr. Putin.“My guess is that the Director of CIA will warn the Kremlin against further escalating the war against Ukraine and the West,” Mr. Bildt said on social media. “Whether he will indicate concrete measures is anyone’s guess — it’s not what Trump has been ready to do so far.”The last trip by a CIA Director to Moscow was by then-Director William Burns in November 2021 during the Biden administration. Mr. Burns spoke face to face with Russian officials and by phone with Mr. Putin to urge the Russians against launching a full scale invasion of Ukraine.Less than four months later, that’s exactly what the Russians did.

CIA Director’s Trip to Russia Shrouded in Mystery

CIA Director’s Trip to Russia Shrouded in Mystery

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