CIA Director Warns Russia Against NATO Attack in Secret Moscow Visit

CIA Director John Ratcliffe made an unannounced trip to Moscow on August 25, delivering warnings to Russian intelligence officials against attacking NATO territory and urging a reduction in support for Iran, according to multiple reports. The visit, conducted with extreme secrecy, marks the first time a sitting CIA chief has traveled to the Russian capital since 2021. Ratcliffe flew into Moscow aboard an unmarked U.S. military cargo plane from Latvia, spending roughly eight hours on the ground. He met with Sergei Naryshkin, the head of Russia's foreign intelligence service (SVR), and Aleksandr Bortnikov, the director of the FSB security service. The Kremlin confirmed the visit as a "working-level meeting" between security services but stated that Ratcliffe did not meet with President Vladimir Putin. According to officials briefed on the trip, Ratcliffe reinforced the United States' commitment to NATO's Article 5 collective defense clause and warned against any Russian military actions targeting alliance members. This message came amid U.S.