A C-17 Globemaster, believed to be carrying U.S. CIA Director John Ratcliffe, lands near Riga, Latvia, on August 25, 2026, in this frame obtained from a social media video.
| Photo Credit: X/@ALFREDSPODINS via Reuters
U.S. CIA Director John Ratcliffe held talks with Russian intelligence officials during his visit to Moscow on Tuesday (August 26, 2026) but did not meet President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin said on Wednesday (August 26, 2026).
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Mr. Putin had been briefed on the outcome of Mr. Ratcliffe’s talks, which come as the war in Ukraine is escalating and as efforts to reach a lasting peace deal between the U.S. and Iran have stalled.
Mr. Peskov declined to disclose what had been discussed or to provide any further details however.
“All I can tell you is that there have been contacts via the security services. I can tell you that there have been no meetings with the Russian president. Naturally, President Putin is kept informed of everything without delay,” said Mr. Peskov.
Asked if visits by such senior U.S. officials could help improve the dire state of U.S.-Russia relations, Mr. Peskov said that contacts between the two countries’ intelligence agencies were a positive thing.
“These contacts often continue even during the most difficult periods in bilateral relations. Our president, incidentally, has spoken about this. However, it is still too early to say to what extent this will, overall, help to steer our bilateral relations out of the profound crisis in which they currently find themselves,” he said.
Published – August 26, 2026 04:34 pm IST
