🔻Trump: A meeting between the CIA chief and Russian intelligence officials may lead to an outcome

🔻Trump: A meeting between the CIA chief and Russian intelligence officials may lead to an outcome

Donald Trump, the U.S. president, said that it “may” be that an unannounced meeting on Tuesday between the head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and officials from Russian intelligence services “will produce results.”

A great deal of speculation has been raised about the reason for the trip to Moscow by John Ratcliffe, the head of the CIA. He arrived in the Russian capital on Tuesday on a military aircraft and left Moscow a few hours later.

Mr. Trump did not provide details about the subject of the talks, but he described the meeting as “semi-standard” and said Washington “is willing for the war in Ukraine to end.”

The most recent similar meeting between intelligence officials of the two countries had been held in the months leading up to the start of Russia’s extensive invasion of Ukraine.

The Kremlin said that John Ratcliffe did not meet with Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, during his trip.

Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesperson, told reporters: “Contacts were made with intelligence services.”

He added: “There was no meeting with the Russian president. Only that is what I can say. Of course, President Putin is immediately informed about all matters.”

Mr. Peskov made these remarks in response to a question by a reporter from the Russian newspaper “Rossiiskaya Gazeta,” who had asked whether Vladimir Putin had been informed about the CIA chief’s meetings and at what level these contacts were held.

Steve Rosenberg, editor of BBC’s Russia section, also asked the Kremlin spokesperson about the subject of the CIA chief’s talks with Russian intelligence officials, but Peskov did not provide further details.