The CIA chief traveled to Moscow in an unannounced trip; Ukraine and Iran are at the center of speculations

🔸Several U.S. officials, speaking with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, confirmed that John Ratcliffe, the head of the Central Intelligence Agency, on Tuesday, the third of Shahrivar, traveled to Moscow on an unannounced trip.

🔸The rare visit took place as Washington’s efforts to end Russia’s war against Ukraine have stalled, and at the same time tensions over Moscow’s relations with Iran have increased.

🔸The reason for Ratcliffe’s trip—which is his first publicly known trip to Russia since he became CIA director in the Donald Trump administration—has not yet been made clear. U.S. officials who were familiar with the details of his itinerary confirmed that he flew to Moscow, but declined to explain the contents of his meetings or say whom he met.

🔸So far, the CIA and the White House have not commented publicly on this trip.

🔸CBS News was the first outlet to report the news of this trip. Flight-tracking data shows that a U.S. military transport aircraft, after passing through Latvia, headed to Moscow.

🔸The aircraft, which appeared to have begun its flight from Joint Base Andrews in the U.S. state of Maryland, landed at an airport in Moscow in the early hours of Tuesday, and left Russia the same day.

🔸This unusual comings and goings have raised questions about why the CIA director himself would travel to Russia at such a sensitive moment.

🔸The last publicly disclosed trip by a CIA director to Moscow was by William Burns, who had previously led the CIA before Ratcliffe. Burns met with Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, in November 2021, three months before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

🔸Read the full text of this interview on the RadioFarda website.