Washington (United States) (AFP) – US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that CIA Director John Ratcliffe's visit to Moscow was "semi-routine," while implying that the intelligence chief was in the Russian capital to discuss the Ukraine war.
"He's there, very sort of semi-routine. I hate to disappoint people. We would like to see the war with Ukraine end," Trump said in an interview with conservative radio host Glenn Beck.
Ratcliffe is one of the highest-ranking US officials to visit Russia since its war with Ukraine started in 2022.
His Tuesday visit came amid an escalation in Moscow's offensive in Ukraine, with attacks this summer increasing the civilian death toll, while US-brokered peace talks have stalled.
The Kremlin said Wednesday that Ratcliffe had "contacts" with Russia's special services on his visit to Moscow but did not meet President Vladimir Putin.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin was briefed on the talks but refused to say whether the Ukraine war was raised.
"Contacts through the intelligence services are a positive development in and of themselves. It is too early to say how this will affect the process of resolving the crisis in our relations," Peskov said.
The last time a CIA director visited Moscow was in November 2021 -- when William Burns warned Russia against sending troops into Ukraine. Weeks later, the Kremlin launched its attack that turned into Europe's worst conflict since World War II.
The CIA has also been involved in prisoner swap deals with Russia, including a major exchange in mid-2024.
The war in Ukraine has killed hundreds of thousands and the Kremlin has refused to ease its maximalist demands of seizing the rest of eastern Ukraine and keeping Crimea.
Trump dismissed suggestions that Ratcliffe was discussing other issues such as Russia testing the resolve of NATO or the US campaign to ramp up economic pressure on Iran.
"He is not in there for any of the things that you said, now something may come out, you know, out of it," Trump told Glenn Beck.
"We're working very hard to get that war ended, and frankly, they both want to see it ended at this point," the US president said.