Reports: CIA chief warned Moscow against attacking Baltic states
According to media reports, CIA Director John Ratcliffe used a surprise visit to Moscow to warn Russian officials against escalating conflict with NATO, including the Baltic states. The White House and the Kremlin have offered differing accounts of the trip's purpose.
Two sources familiar with the matter told Politico on Wednesday that CIA Director John Ratcliffe, during his visit to Moscow, cautioned Russian officials against escalating tensions with NATO, specifically naming Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania as countries that should not be targeted. One source said warning Moscow against such escalation was the primary purpose of the trip. A second source added that Ratcliffe also pressed Russian officials to scale back military and economic support for Iran.
The Wall Street Journal reported similar information on Wednesday, saying Ratcliffe had warned Russia against attacking NATO member states, though the newspaper did not provide further detail.
An unannounced trip from Riga
The CIA director flew to the Russian capital aboard a US military aircraft on Tuesday morning, departing from Riga, and returned the same evening. The visit was described as sudden and not previously announced.
Differing explanations from Washington and Moscow
US President Donald Trump, speaking in an interview with radio host Glenn Beck, described the trip as a "routine" visit during which Russia's war against Ukraine was discussed. Trump added that he wants the war to end.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, for his part, said the purpose of Ratcliffe's visit was contacts between the two countries' intelligence services, denying that any meeting with President Vladimir Putin had taken place.
