CIA chief warned Moscow: don't attack NATO allies or back Iran

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CIA Director John Ratcliffe warned Russian officials in Moscow this week not to escalate conflict with America’s NATO allies, in particular Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, in response to Moscow’s stalemated invasion of Ukraine, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The U.S. spy chief also used the rare, unannounced trip to the Russian capital on Tuesday to press Russia to reduce military and economic support for Iran, according to one of those two people and a U.K. official with knowledge of the trip.

All three people were granted anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

News of Ratcliffe’s trip to Russia, which the administration did not officially acknowledge until this morning, had sparked rampant speculation in Washington and Europe because it marked the first such known trip to the Russian capital by a CIA director under President Donald Trump. In late 2021, then-President Joe Biden’s spy chief, Bill Burns, warned Russian President Vladimir Putin against invading Ukraine . Russian forces stormed across the border three months later.

Ratcliffe’s visit comes as Russia and Ukraine have exchanged an intensifying series of drone and missile strikes miles beyond the front lines of the fighting. Russia has also issued a series of threats in recent weeks against NATO countries that support Ukraine, sparking fear that Moscow could pursue newly aggressive hybrid warfare measures or limited military action against NATO allies, including the U.K.

His “meeting was primarily to warn Russia against any escalatory action against the Baltic states,” said the first person familiar with the matter.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier Wednesday that Ratcliffe warned against attacking NATO countries during his visit, without further details.

A spokesperson for the White House referred POLITICO to comments Trump made earlier Wednesday.

In a radio interview this morning, Trump denied speculation that Ratcliffe made the trip to persuade Putin not to test NATO’s resolve or attack the U.K., which this week vowed to double down on its support for Ukraine. Trump called the visit “semi-routine,” but he acknowledged it was about bringing the war to a close. “I hate to disappoint people. We would like to see the war with Ukraine end,” he said.

The CIA did not respond to a request for comment.

Under the NATO treaty, an armed attack on one member is considered an attack on all members. But Russia has for years used a variety of short-of-war techniques — including sabotage operations and cyberattacks — to undermine U.S. allies in Europe without provoking a broader retaliation.

The C-17 military plane that flew Ratcliffe into Moscow took off from Latvia, according to publicly available flight-tracking data.

Spokespeople for the embassies of Estonia and Lithuania declined to comment. Spokespeople for the Latvian embassy didn’t respond to a request for comment.

On Monday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent threatened to significantly expand sanctions on countries that refuse to cut economic ties with Iran. Ratcliffe also raised this issue with Russian officials, according to the first person and the British official. Ratcliffe conveyed a desire for Moscow to stop sharing weapons and defense technology with Iran and advised Moscow against “overreacting” if it is affected by the sanctions, the British official said. Russia has reportedly shipped material to Iran to bolster its drone arsenal, and may be helping Tehran pinpoint strikes against U.S. facilities in the Middle East.

A spokesperson for the Treasury Department did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

Since his first term, Trump has repeatedly clashed with the U.S. intelligence community on matters pertaining to Russia, at times appearing to echo Kremlin talking points about NATO or offer more optimistic assessments on Putin than his own spy agencies support.

But Trump has soured somewhat on Putin as he has struggled to bring the war to a close. And Ratcliffe is generally viewed as a hawk on Russia.

The visit to Moscow is the latest instance in which Trump has turned to his CIA director to help navigate tense diplomatic negotiations with a major U.S. adversary. Ratcliffe also traveled secretly to Cuba this May to warn the country’s communist regime to make fundamental reforms or risk a U.S. pressure campaign.

While lawmakers were largely in the dark about the trip, Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) said Tuesday that he welcomed the overture.

“Things don’t get better by not talking,” Lankford told POLITICO shortly after a trip to Ukraine. “Right now, Russia doesn’t seem to be focused on trying to solve anything. But we’ve got to be able to find out what is the end game for them.”

Gregory Svirnovskiy contributed to this report.