CIA Chief Secretly Flew to Moscow — Warned Russia of NATO's Resolve and Gave a Grim Assessment of Its Chances in the War

CIA Director John Ratcliffe made a secret trip to Moscow, flying in from Riga, Latvia, aboard a US military Boeing C-17A Globemaster III. According to The Wall Street Journal, the visit was personally arranged by US President Donald Trump, who kept even his own advisers in the dark — and the trip itself triggered a genuine "scramble for information" among European officials.

According to the newspaper's sources, during the talks Ratcliffe once again reminded the Russian side that the United States is fully committed to upholding Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty on collective defense. The paper had previously reported that the CIA chief warned Russia against attacking NATO countries — information that Politico also confirmed, citing three sources familiar with the negotiations.

A Grim Forecast for Bortnikov

According to The New York Times, Ratcliffe met with Alexander Bortnikov, head of Russia's Federal Security Service, and presented him with a "grim assessment of the course of Russia's war against Ukraine." Sources cited by the paper say the American urged Moscow to reach a settlement before Russia's military and economic situation deteriorates even further.

However, the paper notes that Ratcliffe merely conveyed this assessment and did not voice any threats regarding possible consequences for Russia should President Vladimir Putin disregard the CIA director's findings and decide to continue the fighting. The newspaper points out that CIA analysts have long believed Putin's advisers do not always give him an honest picture of the actual situation on the front.

Trump Says He's Not Worried About an Attack on NATO

Trump himself commented several times this week on his CIA director's trip to Moscow. According to Axios, on Thursday he told reporters he was not worried about a Russian attack on the Alliance. "That doesn't bother me. Not at all. There's no problem there," he said, responding to a question about a possible Russian provocation against NATO countries. He later stated flatly that Russia "is not going to attack NATO territory."

Trump described Ratcliffe's trip as routine and "a normal thing." He noted that the CIA director meets with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Naryshkin, head of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service, roughly once every six months to a year, and that the two have "a very good relationship." "There was no message, nothing unusual about it," the US president stressed, adding that "nothing extraordinary happened" during the talks. Naryshkin himself said he had discussed "intelligence matters" with Ratcliffe.

Experts, however, note that CIA chiefs don't travel to Moscow for no reason. According to Russia specialist Glen Howard, "CIA directors don't go to Moscow unless they want to discuss something," meaning the talks likely concerned something genuinely significant. The last time a CIA director visited Moscow was in November 2021, when the post was held by William Burns, who warned Russia against a planned invasion of Ukraine. Three months later, Russia launched the war anyway.

Source: novinky.cz