Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
CIA Director John Ratcliffe made an unannounced visit to Moscow on Tuesday to hold meetings with Russian officials, in a rare high-level US-Russia engagement amid stalled efforts to end the war in Ukraine and growing tensions between Washington and Moscow over Iran, according to US media reports.
The purpose and substance of Ratcliffe’s meetings were not immediately disclosed. A US official who confirmed the visit to the media declined to say whom Ratcliffe met or what was discussed, while the CIA declined to comment. The Kremlin initially said it had no information about the visit or any planned meetings with US officials, adding to the secrecy surrounding the trip.
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Ahead of Donald Trump’s spy chief’s visit to Moscow, the United States asked Ukraine to temporarily halt drone and missile strikes on Moscow and other cities in northern Russia, CNN reported.
The visit marks Ratcliffe’s first known trip to Russia since he became CIA director under Trump. It is also the first publicly known visit by a sitting CIA director to Moscow since November 2021, when then-CIA chief William Burns travelled to Russia and met President Vladimir Putin amid growing concerns over Russia’s military buildup around Ukraine.
US MILITARY AIRCRAFT LANDS IN MOSCOW
Details of Ratcliffe’s presence in Moscow emerged after a US Air Force Boeing C-17 Globemaster III military transport aircraft landed at Moscow’s Vnukovo International Airport early Tuesday.
Flight-tracking data indicated that the aircraft had departed from Joint Base Andrews near Washington and stopped in Riga in Latvia, before continuing to Moscow. The aircraft later departed the Russian capital, with reports indicating that Ratcliffe’s stay lasted only several hours.
The movement of the aircraft and a US diplomatic motorcade in Moscow helped reveal the otherwise undisclosed visit. The Washington Post reported that publicly available footage showed vehicles with diplomatic plates travelling through central Moscow.
The White House, Pentagon, CIA and US Air Force did not publicly announce the trip. Officials familiar with the visit spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the matter. Latvian Defence Ministry officials also declined to provide any details, and just said the flight had been properly coordinated.
– Ends
With inputs from Reuters
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
