New York: Lifting the veil of secrecy on US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) chief John Ratcliffe’s visit to Moscow, President Donald Trump hinted Wednesday that he had sent him there as part of his bid to end the Ukraine War.
Trump told conservative commentator Glenn Beck in an interview: “We’re working very hard to get that war ended, and frankly, they both want to see it ended at this point.”
Something might come out of the visit, he added, but downplayed its overall significance.
Asked if the visit was about NATO or the threatened Iran-related sanctions, Trump said, “None of the above. He’s there, you know, very sort of semi-routine. I hate to disappoint people.”
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed the visit that the US had kept under wraps.
It was broken by US media based on flight data about an American military plane flying from the US via Latvia to Moscow and diplomatic motorcades in the Russian capital.
Peskov told reporters that the CIA chief did not meet President Putin during the visit but spoke with intelligence officials.
He did not give details of what was discussed during the visit
“All I can tell you is that there have been contacts via the security services,” he said
The visit took place as the Ukraine War reached a new phase of intensification, with Russia pummeling Ukraine harder, hitting civilian targets.
Ukraine was reported to be running short of anti-missile defence equipment, increasing its vulnerability, after it had appeared to make headway in the war.
Trump had asserted during his election campaign that he would end the Ukraine within a day of becoming President, but it has dragged on for four years.
Also, on the eve of Ratcliffe’s visit, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned countries doing business with Iran that they would face serious consequences.
Trump had threatened an “Economic D-Day” against Iran, an image that recalls the massive military surge against Nazi Germany that led to the end of World War II.
Russia is one of the countries with significant ties to Iran.
Some reports said that Russia was helping Iran with intelligence to help it in its confrontation with the US, but Trump has denied it.
Peskov also tried to play down the visit’s significance, saying: “These contacts often continue even during the most difficult periods in bilateral relations.”
“It is still too early to say to what extent this will, overall, help to steer our bilateral relations out of the profound crisis in which they currently find themselves”, he added.
This was Ratcliffe’s first visit as CIA chief to Russia.
