US President Donald Trump on Wednesday denied claims linking CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s recent visit to Moscow to potential Russian military threats to NATO or Britain, describing the visit as “almost routine.”
Trump, in a telephone interview with broadcaster Glenn Beck, said that claims about Russia testing NATO's resolve or planning an attack on Britain were "not true".
He added: “None of the above is true; he went there in a manner that can only be described as almost routine.”
Trump confirmed that Ratcliffe, whom he described as a “fantastic guy,” did not go to Moscow for these reasons, noting that the visit “could lead to a result,” and that the United States is working “very hard” to end the Russian-Ukrainian war.
Trump said that Moscow and Kyiv appeared ready to reach a settlement, adding: “Frankly, it seems that both sides now want to end this.”
Earlier on Wednesday, the Kremlin confirmed that Ratcliffe's visit to Moscow on Tuesday included contacts between security agencies, and it was the first visit by the CIA director to Moscow since 2021.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told The Washington Post that Ratcliffe came to Moscow for “contacts between the security services” of the two countries. He added to Russian media on Wednesday that Ratcliffe did not meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and he did not disclose any details about the talks.
The Kremlin spokesman said on Tuesday that he had no knowledge of Ratcliffe's visit, after a US military plane landed in Moscow.
Russian commentators mocked the Kremlin spokesman's statement after photos of the plane circulated on social media, wondering how a plane carrying the director of the US Central Intelligence Agency could arrive in the Russian capital without the Kremlin's knowledge.
This is likely to be Ratcliffe's first visit to Moscow since becoming director of the CIA. His predecessor, William Burns, visited Russia in 2021 at the request of then-President Joe Biden and met with Putin in an effort to prevent an escalation of tensions over Ukraine.
No details were disclosed regarding the purpose of Ratcliffe's recent visit.
There is widespread speculation that he may be seeking to warn Russia against further escalation of the war in Ukraine.
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