Details of the CIA Director’s Visit to Moscow: Baltic Security and Pressure on Iran
CIA Director John Ratcliffe reportedly used his visit to Moscow to warn Russia against attacking NATO allies and to pressure Moscow to reduce its support for Iran, according to sources.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe warned Russian officials in Moscow this week against escalating the conflict with US allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), particularly Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke to the US magazine Politico.
The US intelligence chief also used the rare, unannounced visit to the Russian capital on Tuesday to pressure Moscow to scale back its military and economic support for Iran, according to one of the sources and a British official familiar with the visit.
News of Ratcliffe’s trip to Russia, which the administration did not officially acknowledge until Wednesday morning, prompted widespread speculation in Washington and Europe because it represents the first known visit of its kind by a CIA director under President Donald Trump.
In late 2021, William Burns, who was CIA director under then-President Joe Biden, warned Russian President Vladimir Putin against attacking Ukraine. However, the trip failed to achieve its objectives, and the war broke out three months later.
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier on Wednesday that Ratcliffe had warned during his visit against attacks on NATO member states, without providing further details.
In a radio interview on Thursday morning, Trump rejected speculation that Ratcliffe had made the trip to persuade Putin not to test NATO’s resolve or attack the United Kingdom, which pledged this week to double its support for Ukraine.
Trump described the visit as “almost routine”, but acknowledged that its purpose was to end the war. He said: “I hate to disappoint people. We would like to see the war in Ukraine end.”
Under the NATO treaty, an armed attack against one member is considered an attack against all members. However, according to Politico, Russia has for years employed various methods that remain below the threshold of open warfare, including acts of sabotage and cyberattacks, to undermine US allies in Europe without provoking a broader retaliatory response.
Sanctions on Iran
On Monday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent threatened to significantly expand sanctions against countries that refuse to sever their economic ties with Iran.
According to the sources, Ratcliffe also raised this issue with Russian officials.
The British official told Politico that Ratcliffe expressed a desire for Moscow to stop sharing weapons and technology with Iran and advised Moscow not to “overreact” if it were affected by the sanctions.
Ratcliffe’s visit comes as Russia and Ukraine are exchanging an escalating series of drone and missile strikes beyond the front lines.
Russia has also issued a series of increasingly strong threats in recent weeks against NATO countries supporting Ukraine, raising concerns that Moscow could resort to new aggressive hybrid warfare measures or limited military action against NATO allies, including the United Kingdom.
The first source familiar with the matter told Politico that “the meeting was primarily aimed at warning Russia against any escalatory action against the Baltic states”.
According to Politico, the visit to Moscow is the latest example of Trump turning to the CIA director to help him manage tense diplomatic negotiations with one of the United States’ principal adversaries.
Ratcliffe secretly travelled to Cuba in May to urge the country’s communist government to undertake sweeping reforms or face a US pressure campaign.
