Kremlin says CIA head spoke with Russian secret services, not Putin

Moscow: The head of the CIA, John Radcliffe, did not meet President Vladimir Putin on his visit to Moscow but had “contacts” with Russia’s special services, the Kremlin said Wednesday, without elaborating what was discussed.

Radcliffe went to Moscow on an unannounced trip Tuesday, US media reported, becoming one of the highest ranking US officials to visit Russia since its war with Ukraine started in 2022.

“There were contacts through the intelligence agencies, but there were no meetings of any kind with the Russian president,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

He said Putin was briefed on the talks but refused to say whether the Ukraine war was raised.

The visit came amid an escalation in Moscow’s offensive, with attacks this summer increasing the civilian death toll, while US-brokered peace talks have stalled.

“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 - such as a major exchange in mid-2024.

The White House and the CIA have not yet commented on the visit.

The war in Ukraine has killed hundreds of thousands and the Kremlin has refused to ease its demands of seizing the rest of eastern Ukraine.