CIA director met with Russian intelligence officials, not president, Kremlin says

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Putin had been briefed on the outcome of Ratcliffe's talks, but declined to provide further details.

US CIA Director John Ratcliffe held talks with Russian intelligence officials during his visit to Moscow on Tuesday but did not meet President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin said on Wednesday.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Putin had been briefed on the outcome of Ratcliffe's talks, but declined to provide further details.

Peskov said it was also too early to say whether such contacts between the two countries' intelligence agencies could help pull US-Russia relations out of what he described as a "deep crisis."

Reports first emerged on Tuesday that Ratcliffe traveled to Russia aboard a US military C-17 transport plane for meetings in Moscow and left that evening.

First visit by US spy chief since Ratcliffe's predecessor

The visit was the first known visit to the Russian capital by a US spy chief since Ratcliffe's predecessor, William Burns, held talks with Vladimir Putin in November 2021. About three months after that meeting, the Russian president launched Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

The last direct flight of a US-registered jet to Russia from Europe took place in January this year, carrying special envoys Steven Witkoff and Jared Kushner for peace talks with Vladimir Putin on Ukraine.

A source familiar with the details of Ratcliffe's trip told The Jerusalem Post that Trump administration officials asked Ukraine several days ago to pause any strikes against Moscow and other cities from Monday through Wednesday.