Trump says CIA director was on 'semi-routine' mission in Moscow

US President Donald Trump has described CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s visit to Moscow as “semi-routine”, while suggesting that the intelligence chief may have discussed efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

“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’s visit on Tuesday made him one of the highest-ranking US officials to travel to Russia since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The visit came as Russian attacks have intensified this summer, driving up civilian casualties, while US-brokered peace talks have stalled.

The Kremlin confirmed Wednesday that Ratcliffe held “contacts” with Russia’s intelligence services but did not meet President Vladimir Putin.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin had been briefed on the talks but declined to confirm whether the Ukraine war was discussed.

“Contacts through the intelligence services are a positive development in and of themselves,” Peskov said, adding that it was too early to assess their impact on efforts to resolve the crisis in US-Russia relations.

The last CIA director to visit Moscow was William Burns, who travelled to the Russian capital in November 2021 and warned Moscow against invading Ukraine. The Kremlin launched its full-scale attack weeks later, triggering the largest conflict in Europe since World War II.

The CIA has also played a role in prisoner exchanges between the United States and Russia, including a major swap in 2024.

Trump rejected suggestions that Ratcliffe’s visit was related to other issues, including Russia’s efforts to test NATO’s resolve or Washington’s campaign to increase 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 Beck.