Arabic version: تقارير: مدير وكالة الاستخبارات المركزية يزور موسكو دون إعلان مسبق

According to BBC News, CIA director John Ratcliffe travelled to Moscow on Tuesday for unannounced talks, CBS reported. Neither Washington nor Moscow confirmed the purpose of the visit or whom he was expected to meet.

Flight-tracking data showed a large US military aircraft travelling from the United States to Russia via Latvia on Tuesday before departing later the same day. Social-media footage showed a C-17 transport plane approaching Moscow’s Vnukovo international airport.

FlightRadar24 data indicated that the aircraft left Riga at 05:50 GMT, appeared to land in Moscow at about 07:04 GMT, and left the Russian capital shortly before 16:00 GMT. Separate footage purported to show a diplomatic motorcade travelling through Moscow.

The trip is believed to be Ratcliffe’s first to Russia as CIA director, although he has maintained contact with intelligence counterparts in Moscow. He played a role in negotiations for the release of Russian-American citizen Ksenia Karelina, and the CIA was involved in a 2024 prisoner swap that freed Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan and Alsu Kurmasheva.

High-level in-person meetings between US and Russian officials are rare. US-Russia relations have been strained since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, while subsequent US-led peace talks between Russia and Ukraine appear to have stalled.