Russian intelligence chief confirms meeting with CIA director during Moscow visit

Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Director Sergey Naryshkin on Thursday confirmed that he met with CIA Director John Ratcliffe, who arrived in Moscow earlier this week.

In remarks to journalists in the Russian capital, Naryshkin described the meeting with Ratcliffe as "nothing unusual," saying their talks were "part of our working format."

"During the meeting, we discussed a number of issues that fall within the purview of intelligence services. And intelligence services' purview is a rather delicate and specific matter," the SVR chief added.

The Kremlin confirmed Wednesday that Ratcliffe visited Moscow on Tuesday, the first visit by a CIA chief since 2021, saying it involved contacts between security services and describing such contacts as a "positive phenomenon, a positive process."

According to Flightradar24, a US Air Force C-17A Globemaster III flew from the Latvian capital of Riga to Moscow's Vnukovo Airport on Tuesday. The aircraft had arrived two days earlier from Camp Springs in the US, near Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, where White House aircraft are often based.

The aircraft departed Moscow and returned to Riga later the same evening, according to Flightradar24 data.

CBS News later reported, citing sources familiar with the situation, that the CIA director was in the Russian capital for meetings.

Axios, citing a source, reported that Washington told Kyiv that a senior delegation would visit Moscow and asked Ukraine to suspend strikes until the delegation leaves the country.

Later Wednesday, US President Donald Trump characterized Ratcliffe's visit to Moscow as "semi-routine," dismissing reports that the visit was linked to potential Russian military threats against NATO or the UK.