CIA chief in Moscow warned Russia against actions that could escalate tensions with Baltic states – Politico
Politico has learnt from anonymous sources that CIA Director John Ratcliffe, during a visit to Moscow, urged Russian officials not to take actions that could escalate tensions with US allies in NATO, particularly Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Source: European Pravda, citing Politico, a Brussels-based politics and policy news organisation
Details: Ratcliffe also used his visit to the Russian capital on Tuesday 25 August to urge Russia to reduce its military and economic support for Iran, according to an unnamed source and a British official familiar with the details.
Politico noted that in late 2021, Bill Burns, CIA director under President Joe Biden, warned Russian ruler Vladimir Putin of the dangers of invading Ukraine. Three months later, Russian troops crossed the border.
Russia has issued a series of threats against NATO countries supporting Ukraine in recent weeks, raising concerns that Moscow could resort to further aggressive hybrid warfare measures or limited military action against NATO allies.
His "meeting was primarily to warn Russia against any escalatory action against the Baltic states," said a source familiar with the matter.
Background:
- Earlier on 26 August, The Wall Street Journal reported that during his visit, Ratcliffe had warned Russia against attacking NATO countries, without providing further details.
- In the morning of the same day, US President Donald Trump denied in a radio interview that Ratcliffe had made the trip to persuade Putin not to test NATO's resolve or attack the UK, which this week pledged to step up its support for Ukraine. Trump described the visit as "very semi-routine", but acknowledged that its purpose was to end the war.
- "We would like to see the Ukraine war end," Trump noted.
- The Kremlin, for its part, said the CIA chief's visit was related to contact between the Russian and US intelligence services.
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