Kremlin denies Putin refused meeting with CIA chief during Moscow visit

The Kremlin has denied reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin refused to meet with CIA Director John Ratcliffe during the U.S. intelligence chief’s recent visit to Moscow, saying no such meeting had been planned.

Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said Ratcliffe instead met with senior officials from Russia’s intelligence agencies, including Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) chief Sergey Naryshkin and Federal Security Service (FSB) Director Alexander Bortnikov, Caliber.Az reports via Russian media.

“There were no such plans,” Ushakov said, adding that the discussions between Ratcliffe and his Russian counterparts were confidential and official in nature. He declined to comment on their substance.

Ratcliffe made a covert visit to Moscow on August 25. U.S. President Donald Trump described the trip as “standard business” and said it was not intended to warn Russia against attacking NATO territory.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov previously said the visit was connected to contacts between the intelligence services of Russia and the United States.

By Sabina Mammadli