Trump commented on CIA director's secret visit to Moscow

US President Donald Trump called CIA Director John Ratcliffe's unexpected trip to Moscow "routine to a certain extent" and rejected suggestions that the visit was related to possible escalation by Russia or a test of NATO's resolve.

Trump said this on August 26 during a telephone interview with American radio host Glenn Beck. The conversation took place a day after Ratcliffe's unannounced visit to the Russian capital, the purpose of which was almost not officially disclosed.

Beck mentioned circulating assumptions that Vladimir Putin may be preparing to "test NATO's resolve" and asked whether the arrival of the US intelligence chief was connected to this.

"He is not there because of any of the things you mentioned," Trump replied.

At the same time, the US president allowed that Ratcliffe's trip could lead to a certain result, but did not reveal the content of the talks.

"Maybe something will come of it. We are working very hard to end this war," Trump added, speaking about the Russian-Ukrainian war.

Thus, the American president did not confirm that the CIA chief's trip was directly related to negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine, but he mentioned Washington's peace efforts while answering a question about the visit.

Ratcliffe arrived in Moscow on August 25. The American administration did not announce the trip in advance. It became known after data on the movement of a US government plane and media reports. According to The Washington Post, the plane was in Moscow for about eight and a half hours.

Later, the Kremlin confirmed the CIA chief's contacts with the Russian side. Vladimir Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that it was about "contacts between intelligence services," but refused to reveal their content. At the same time, Ratcliffe did not have meetings directly with Putin.

Trump himself tried to reduce the significance of the hype around the trip. "I don't want to disappoint people," he said, calling the CIA director's visit "routine to a certain extent."

Based on materials from: Clash Report, The Guardian, The Washington Post