Rubio Says CIA Chief Visited Moscow Just to Keep Intel Ties Open

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s unannounced trip to Moscow last week was a routine effort to preserve communication channels between US and Russian intelligence agencies. In an interview with Fox News Radio broadcast Wednesday, Sept. 2, Rubio framed Ratcliffe’s visit as intended to continue developing “intel-to-intel” contacts with Russia.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “Those things can prove useful in a time of crisis or conflict,” Rubio said according to Bloomberg. Secretive trip to Moscow CBS News reported the visit, citing sources familiar with the matter after a US Air Force Boeing C-17 Globemaster III military transport plane landed at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport. The US aircraft – identified as RCH4555 – departed Riga at around 8:50 a.m. before landing at Vnukovo Airport at roughly 10:04 a.m., raising questions due to the flight’s unusual route. Flight-tracking data indicated that the aircraft first arrived in Riga on Sunday, Aug. 23, after departing from Camp Springs, Maryland, home to Andrews Air Force Base. Neither Moscow nor Washington commented on the purpose of the visit, or publicly identified the US official who arrived in Russia at the time. “We have no information about this,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said when asked about the aircraft, adding that Russia was not planning meetings with the US administration. Other Topics of Interest Maldives Used as Route for Russian Sanctions Evasion Aircraft parts, electronics and other dual-use items were reportedly transferred through the capital, Malé, onto Aeroflot flights to Moscow. On Aug. 27, Sergey Naryshkin, director of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), confirmed that he met Ratcliffe during his trip to Moscow, describing their discussions as a regular part of intelligence work. There was “nothing out of the ordinary,” he said, according to Axios. Reports on possible agenda On Wednesday, Aug. 26, The Wall Street Journal and Politico reported that Ratcliffe made the visit to warn Russian President Vladimir Putin against attacking a NATO member. Around the same time, US President Donald Trump said that “something may come out of” the visit, adding that his administration was working “very hard to end the war in Ukraine,” despite initially downplaying Ratcliffe’s visit as routine. Eventually, he rejected reports that Ratcliffe had traveled to warn Moscow against attacking a NATO country. Several US media reported that the CIA director urged the Kremlin to pursue serious negotiations, warning that Russia’s military and economic position would worsen if it continued the war. Some even speculated that the discussions centered on Iran, to whom Russia pledged alliance amid their war with the US. The precise agenda of Ratcliffe’s Moscow meetings, however, has not been publicly disclosed. Ukraine briefed by Washington President Volodymyr Zelensky said Aug. 28, that Ukraine received information from the US about the several meetings Ratcliffe held with Russian intelligence officials, both before and after they took place. He welcomed Washington’s approach to talks with Russia, saying coordinated international action must create the conditions for Moscow to end its aggression against Ukraine. Moscow has, however, continued to reject ceasefire proposals, continuously intensifying strikes on Ukraine. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.