Kremlin denies planned talks with US envoys amid reports CIA head in Russia

SaveSharefacebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylinkUS President Donald Trump, left, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe [File: Nathan Howard/Reuters]By Al Jazeera Staff, AFP and AnadoluPublished On 25 Aug 202625 Aug 2026The United States’ spy chief is reportedly visiting Moscow for meetings, according to US media outlets, even as the Kremlin says no talks with US envoys are planned this week.CBS News, citing unnamed sources familiar with the situation, reported that CIA Director John Ratcliffe was in the Russian capital on Tuesday.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou on accountability and CIA’s historylist 2 of 4Russian expert warns of impending social crisis as Ukraine death toll riseslist 3 of 4Zelenskyy says wartime elections could ‘destroy’ Ukrainelist 4 of 4UK to help Ukraine build Storm Shadow long-range missiles: Why it mattersend of listAxios separately confirmed the highest-level visit by a Trump administration official to Russia since January, quoting a US official.The outlets did not say whom he was meeting or what the talks are expected to cover. The CIA declined to comment, according to the Reuters news agency.The news comes after a US military transport aircraft travelled from Riga to Moscow, according to flight-tracking websites.Russia, meanwhile, said no talks between Moscow and US envoys are planned this week, as Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations remain stalled.“No, there are no such plans,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters during a press briefing on Tuesday.Asked about reports that a US military plane landed in Moscow on Tuesday morning, Peskov said he had “no such information”.Earlier, data from Flightradar24 showed a US military C-17 travelling from the US to Latvia and then on to Moscow, having departed Riga airport at 05:50 GMT and landing at nearly 07:04 GMT.Later, the ⁠plane ⁠believed to be carrying Ratcliffe departed Moscow, according to data on the flight-tracking website. Ratcliffe’s reported visit comes as US-brokered talks aimed at ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have stalled. But Moscow earlier this month freed a former US Marine detained since 2022 amid concerns about his health.Axios also reported that Washington informed Ukraine of a senior delegation traveling to Moscow in advance and asked it to suspend strikes until it leaves, quoting a source with knowledge of the matter.The Iran war is also a live issue between Washington and Tehran’s ally, Moscow.CIA Director Ratcliffe has been reportedly central to high-profile prisoner exchanges between the US and Russia since US President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, including the release of a US-Russian dual national, Ksenia Karelina.If confirmed, the reports of his visit would mark the first such trip since then-CIA Director William Burns travelled to Moscow in 2021.