CIA Chief in Moscow Warned Russia Against Attack on NATO Countries - Politico

CIA Director John Ratcliffe, during an unannounced visit to Moscow, warned Russian officials not to escalate confrontation with NATO countries, especially Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. In addition, Washington called on Russia to reduce military and economic support to Iran.

This is reported by Politico, citing two sources familiar with Ratcliffe's visit, as well as a British official. They spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the negotiations.

According to one of the sources, the main goal of the CIA chief's meetings was to warn Moscow against any steps that could lead to escalation against the Baltic states.

Earlier, The Wall Street Journal also reported that Ratcliffe warned Russia against an attack on NATO members during his trip. According to the newspaper, US intelligence believes that Moscow may try to test the Alliance's readiness for collective defense in the coming years. Among possible scenarios are a cyberattack or a limited military operation, particularly against one of the Baltic countries.

The visit took place amid intensifying Russian threats to NATO countries supporting Ukraine and concerns about the possible expansion of Moscow's hybrid operations.

US demanded reduction of aid to Iran

The second important issue of the talks was Russia's cooperation with Iran. According to Politico, Ratcliffe conveyed Washington's wish for Russia to stop supplying arms and defense technologies to Tehran.

The British source claims that Moscow was also advised not to escalate in response to US sanctions if new restrictions affect Russian economic interests.

This follows a statement by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent about Washington's readiness to significantly expand sanctions against countries that do not reduce economic ties with Iran.

Politico notes that Russia has supplied Iran with materials that could be used to boost drone production, and, according to American sources, may have shared intelligence with Tehran.

Trump called the visit 'semi-routine'

US President Donald Trump publicly downplayed the significance of the CIA director's trip. He called it 'semi-routine' and denied assumptions that Ratcliffe went to Moscow specifically to convince Vladimir Putin not to test NATO's strength.

At the same time, Trump acknowledged that the talks were related to the Russian-Ukrainian war. According to him, the United States continues to work on ending it.

Ratcliffe arrived in Moscow on Tuesday, August 25. This was the first known visit by a CIA director to the Russian capital under the current Trump administration. According to flight tracking data, the C-17 military transport aircraft he used arrived in Moscow from Latvia.

The CIA officially did not comment on the details of the talks.

Source: Politico