Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR - Sluzhba Vneshnei Razvedki) chief Sergei Naryshkin has confirmed that he met CIA Director John Ratcliffe in Moscow. Naryshkin disclosed the meeting to journalists, according to TASS.
According to the head of the SVR, there was "nothing unusual” about his meeting with Ratcliffe.
"In the work of intelligence services, meetings between their heads, whether in person or online, are part of our routine. I should tell you that I meet almost every week with the head of one intelligence service or another, with intelligence organizations from all continents of the world. So the meeting that took place with John Ratcliffe was also a working format,” Naryshkin said.
He added that he and Ratcliffe discussed issues falling within the competence of the intelligence services.
Naryshkin Confirms Talks With CIA Director
Ratcliffe visited Moscow on August 25. The following day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that contacts had taken place between the Russian and US intelligence services, while stressing that Ratcliffe had not met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"Naturally, President Putin is briefed on everything immediately,” Peskov added.
US President Donald Trump described Ratcliffe's trip to Russia as "semi-routine.”
"He is there, you know, on a somewhat, in a way, semi-routine visit. I don't want to disappoint anyone. We would like to see the war in Ukraine end. This war would never have started if I had been president,” Trump said.
At the same time, the US president said that "something could come out of” the CIA director's visit to Moscow.
Ukraine Says Conflict Was Not Main Topic
The conflict in Ukraine was not the main subject of Ratcliffe's visit to Moscow, according to Ukrainian intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov, who was quoted by the News. live Telegram channel.
"The main subject of the meeting, so to speak, was relations between the two countries. (…) [The conflict in Ukraine] was not the main issue of this meeting,” the Ukrainian official said.
Budanov added that the visit had been in preparation for several months but was subsequently postponed.
Photographer Andrew Leyden reported on social media platform X that Ratcliffe visited the Oval Office on August 26, the day after his trip to Moscow. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine were also present at the meeting.
Reports Link Ratcliffe's Moscow Trip to NATO and Iran
According to sources cited by The Wall Street Journal, Ratcliffe traveled to Moscow to warn Russia against attacking NATO. The visit came amid US intelligence assessments that Russia could attempt to "test NATO's resolve” in the coming years.
Politico, citing two sources, reported that Ratcliffe warned Russia against escalating the conflict with US NATO allies, specifically Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The publication also reported that the CIA director used the visit to pressure Moscow over its military and economic support for Iran.
Moscow has repeatedly stated that it has no intention of attacking NATO. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that there are no geopolitical, economic or military reasons for a war with the alliance.
The Kremlin also said at the beginning of the military operation in Iran that Russia had received no requests from Tehran for assistance, including military assistance.
Reports about Ratcliffe's visit were preceded by information that a US Air Force Boeing C-17A Globemaster III military transport aircraft had arrived at Moscow's Vnukovo Airport from Riga. The aircraft departed for Riga later that same evening.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said that his country had been informed in advance about the CIA director's trip to Moscow.
According to the Financial Times, Trump had asked Ukraine to refrain from striking Moscow, St. Petersburg and Russia's northern regions on August 24-26, citing plans to send a high-ranking US official there by aircraft. Kyiv reportedly agreed to the request.
The confirmation of the Naryshkin-Ratcliffe meeting provides further evidence that direct contacts between the Russian and US intelligence services remain active despite the broader crisis in relations between Moscow and Washington. The precise substance of their discussions has not been disclosed.
