CIA chief travels to Moscow for unannounced talks, US media reports

The trip is thought to be Ratcliffe's first trip to Russia as CIA director, although he has maintained contact with his intelligence counterparts in Moscow.John Foreman, who served as a British military attaché to Moscow between 2019 and 2022, told Radio 4's PM programme that the visit could be focused on "escalation management" given speculation recent drone activity in Germany could be linked to Russia.He said: "The Americans don't normally send such a high ranking official to Moscow unannounced at short notice unless something is up."Foreman said the trip could also concern the release of US detainees currently being held in Russia.Ratcliffe played a role in negotiations for the release of Russian-American citizen Ksenia Karelina's, who was jailed in Russia for over a year after being accused of providing support to Ukraine. The CIA was also involved in a 2024 prisoner swap deal with Russia that saw the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, as well as former US marine Paul Whelan and Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva.The US has had strained relations with Russia since it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Since then, Russia has been ...