The CIA Director, John Ratcliffe, made a surprise visit to Moscow on Tuesday, at a time when American services are monitoring possible military preparations by Russia.
The CIA Director, John Ratcliffe, made a surprise visit to Moscow on Tuesday, American officials announced, this being his first publicly known trip to the capital of Russia, writes The Wall Street Journal.
According to the American press, Ratcliffe arrived in the Russian capital aboard a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III military transport aircraft, which landed at Vnukovo airport.
Neither the American authorities nor the Russian ones have provided information about the purpose of the visit or about the people with whom the CIA director met, writes Mediafax.
The Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, stated that there are no meetings scheduled this week between President Vladimir Putin and officials of the American administration.
The hypothesis of a warning transmitted to Moscow
The visit takes place while the United States is trying to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the war in Iran, although the reason for the trip was not immediately clear.
The US has obtained information indicating preliminary preparations by Russia for a possible military mobilization in Ukraine and plans to test NATO’s resolve, WSJ reported.
Analysts have considered the possibility that Ratcliffe may have met with Russian President Vladimir Putin to deliver a warning.
“It could be about telling them: ‘We know what you’re thinking of doing and it would be better not to do it'”, stated Beth Sanner, a former high-ranking official of the American intelligence community.
“It could also be about the armistice with Iran and bringing another party to the negotiation table”, she said, adding that Ratcliffe could also address Kremlin’s support for Iran, following a new sanctions campaign launched by the US against the regime in Tehran.
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