CIA chief holds rare talks with Russian intelligence officials in Moscow

CIA Director John Ratcliffe held talks with senior Russian intelligence officials in Moscow, the Kremlin said Wednesday, in a rare visit that came as relations between Washington and Moscow remain tense over Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Ratcliffe did not meet President Vladimir Putin, though the Russian leader was informed about the discussions.

“President Putin is immediately informed of everything,” Peskov said, declining to provide details about the talks.

The CIA and White House did not immediately comment on the visit.

Russian state news agencies reported that a US military aircraft landed at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport on Tuesday and left later the same day.

A senior Ukrainian official told The Associated Press that Washington had informed Kyiv about the US delegation’s trip to Moscow and asked it to pause strikes while the delegation was there.

The official said the request covered Moscow, St Petersburg and some northern Russian regions, but not the rest of the country. Ukrainian strikes continued elsewhere, the official said, speaking anonymously because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

CBS News first reported Ratcliffe’s visit.

Relations remain strained

Peskov described intelligence contacts between the two countries as a positive development but said Russia-US relations remain in a “profound crisis.”

He said it was too early to determine whether Ratcliffe’s visit would improve ties.

Andrei Soldatov, an expert on Russia’s security services, told AP that visits like this are unusual and do not happen frequently.

He said communication channels between Moscow and Washington have remained open since the 1980s, mainly to allow the two sides to address urgent security issues, including situations involving American or Russian citizens.

In 2021, former Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev met then-CIA Director William Burns in Moscow, months before Russia invaded Ukraine. Burns later met Sergei Naryshkin, head of Russia’s foreign intelligence service, in Turkey in November 2022 and warned against any use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

Soldatov said intelligence-level meetings are generally held when there is an urgent national security issue and when Washington considers them to be in the US national interest.

Ukraine peace efforts stalled

Russia-US relations fell to their lowest point since the Cold War after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Ties appeared to improve after President Donald Trump returned to the White House and promised to quickly end the war.

Trump held several phone calls with Putin and hosted him in Alaska last year as part of efforts to negotiate a settlement.

Those efforts have largely stalled, however. US attention has also shifted toward its war with Iran, while Russia and Ukraine have increased long-range attacks against each other.

Putin has rejected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s call for an immediate ceasefire, saying Moscow wants a broader peace agreement rather than a temporary truce.

Russia has also offered to help mediate between the United States and Israel and Iran.

Russia-Iran ties

Russia has maintained close relations with Iran. After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Iran supplied Moscow with Shahed drones, and Russia later began producing them under license.

In January 2025, the two countries signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty.

At the same time, Moscow has maintained ties with Israel, making its relationship with Iran complicated.

The Associated Press reported in March that Russia had provided Iran with information that could potentially help Tehran target US warships, aircraft and other military assets in the region. US officials familiar with the intelligence said there was no evidence that Moscow was directing Iran on how to use the information.

When asked whether Russia would provide military assistance to Iran, Peskov said Tehran had not made such a request. He declined to comment when asked whether Moscow had provided military or intelligence support since the conflict began.

Soldatov said Ratcliffe’s Moscow talks may have included discussions about protecting US personnel, military bases and other facilities in the Middle East that have come under Iranian attack.

He also suggested Ratcliffe may have traveled to Moscow in an effort to influence Russia’s relationship with Iran.