According to TASS news agency, Director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) John Ratcliffe arrived in Moscow on August 25 (local time) to conduct contacts between US and Russian security agencies.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed this information, saying Ratcliffe's trip was to serve contacts between security agencies of the two countries.
Information about the CIA Director's trip was released after a US Boeing C-17A Globemaster III military transport plane suddenly appeared in Moscow on August 25.
According to data from online air traffic monitoring systems, the plane departed from Andrews Air Force Base near Washington, stopped in Riga, Latvia, before continuing to Moscow.
TASS reported that a US military aircraft was detected at an airport in Moscow at the same time as a US diplomatic convoy appeared there. However, there is no information confirming that Mr. Ratcliffe arrived in Russia on the same C-17A. The US and Russian governments have not commented on the identity of the US officials present in Russia or the purpose of the visit. The CIA has also not commented.
This is said to be Mr. Ratcliffe's first trip to Russia since he took office as CIA Director. Before that, he still maintained contact with partners in the Russian intelligence agency.
The visit takes place in the context of stalled peace talks between Russia and Ukraine promoted by the US. Moscow and Kiev still have major differences on many core issues in the negotiation process.
