CIA director John R. Ratcliffe arrives in Moscow on U.S. military transport
John R. Ratcliffe landed in Moscow on a U.S. military C-17; FlightRadar24 shows a Riga stop on 23 August while the Kremlin says it has no record of a Vnukovo landing.
The director of the CIA, John R. Ratcliffe, arrived in Moscow today aboard a U.S. military transport plane, and sources familiar with the trip say he is scheduled to hold a series of meetings in the Russian capital.
Russian authorities said they had no information about the landing of a Boeing C-17 Globemaster at Vnukovo airport. Flight tracking data from FlightRadar24 showed the aircraft departed a base near Washington and made a stop in Riga on 23 August before continuing on to Moscow today.
Itinerary, confirmation and diplomatic context
The exact agenda for Ratcliffe's meetings was not disclosed. Sources familiar with the travel arrangements said the visits will include discussions with Russian officials, but provided no further details on the participants or locations.
The arrival of a senior U.S. intelligence official on a military transport plane and reports of talks in Moscow come amid strained relations between Washington and Moscow; such high-level trips are uncommon and draw immediate attention from both governments and independent trackers of air traffic.
Russian statements that they had no record of the aircraft's landing at Vnukovo contrasted with public flight-tracking data indicating the C-17's route through Riga on 23 August and onward to Moscow today. Both the lack of immediate confirmation from Russian authorities and the flight-log details underscore the opaque nature of sensitive diplomatic and intelligence travel.
Representatives for the CIA and U.S. government have not issued public comments on the trip. The visit will be watched closely for any signals about bilateral communication channels between the United States and Russia.
Photo: AP)
