The Kremlin announced this Wednesday that the CIA director, John Ratcliffe, is already in Moscow as part of a previously unannounced visit, for which no official program has been released by Washington so far. Russian authorities have made it clear that a meeting with President Vladimir Putin is not on the agenda during this stay.
"No meetings are planned (between Ratcliffe) and the president," said Kremlin spokesman, Dimitri Peskov, in brief statements collected by the Russian news agency Interfax, thus putting an end to speculation about a possible face-to-face meeting.
"All I can say is that there have been contacts through intelligence services," he pointed out, before emphasizing that Putin is being informed of "the results of the contacts." "Of course, Putin is being informed immediately of everything," he highlighted, stressing that the leader is closely following the development of the conversations.
At the same time, Peskov emphasized that the existence of communication channels between the intelligence services of both countries constitutes "a positive phenomenon." "These contacts often continue even during the most difficult moments in bilateral relations," he argued, according to the TASS agency, valuing that these ties are maintained despite the tensions.
However, he warned that for the moment "it is too early to say what impact this will have on the overall process of recovering bilateral relations from the deep crisis they are in," referring to the deterioration between Moscow and Washington, following the contacts made after the return of U.S. President, Donald Trump, to the White House in January 2025.
The official confirmation from the Kremlin came after several media reported that the head of the CIA had landed in the Russian capital aboard a Boeing C-17, although neither the U.S. government nor the intelligence agency itself has offered public comments on the trip so far.