The unexpected visit of CIA Director John Ratcliffe to Russia on Tuesday, which was initially not officially confirmed by either side, is today the main topic of American and British publications, BTA reported.
Great Britain
US President Donald Trump did not attach much importance to Ratcliffe's visit to Moscow after he arrived in the Russian capital without prior announcement, which caused a wave of speculation about the reasons for his visit, the "Guardian" newspaper writes. The White House, CIA, Pentagon and US Air Force initially declined to comment on the visit, which was confirmed yesterday by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the British publication notes.
Ratcliffe's visit is the first by a CIA director to Russia since his predecessor Bill Burns visited Moscow in November 2021 to warn President Vladimir Putin of the consequences of a possible attack on Ukraine, the publication points out, the UK newspaper recalls.
Trump's efforts to end the war - which before winning the presidential election he promised to end on the "first day" of his second presidential term - have so far been unsuccessful, despite his friendly personal relations with the Russian president, the Guardian commented.
During the eight-hour visit on Tuesday, Ratcliffe warned Russia not to escalate the conflict with the US's NATO allies, another British newspaper, the "Telegraph", wrote.
The newspaper cited a report in the American newspaper "Wall Street Journal" from earlier this month, according to which US intelligence believes that a possible Russian attack on NATO could happen anytime between this autumn and 2029. This is a significant change, as US officials have previously said that Russia would not attack while its armed forces are busy with the war in Ukraine, notes the "Telegraph".
USA
Ratcliffe's visit to Moscow coincided with a tense period in US-Russian relations, writes the "Washington Post". Russia and Ukraine have increased the long-range strikes they are exchanging and there is no end in sight to the war, the newspaper notes. Some analysts warn that Putin could escalate the conflict with military provocations against the Baltic republics or other NATO members, which could trigger a new crisis.
The US and Russia are also on opposite sides in the conflict with Iran, the publication notes. Iran is Moscow's most important ally in the Middle East, and Russia provides Tehran with intelligence on the location of US military sites in the region. The US Treasury Department on Monday announced a massive campaign of sanctions and diplomatic pressure aimed at choking the Iranian economy.
Visits like Ratcliffe's "don't happen every year," said Andrei Soldatov, an expert on Russian security services, quoted by the Los Angeles Times.
Official channels of communication between Moscow and Washington have been maintained since the 1980s and exist so that the two sides can talk if the lives of Americans or Russians are threatened or for other reasons, the expert said.
Neither side has yet to release details of Tuesday's talks, but such meetings are usually held only when it is an urgent matter related to national security and when it is in "American national interests," Soldatov added. According to the expert, the meeting probably discussed ensuring the safety of American servicemen, bases or facilities in the Middle East, which were targeted by Iran.
The CIA chief's unexpected trip to Moscow was aimed at warning Russia not to attack NATO countries, the "Wall Street Journal" reports, citing its sources. This American newspaper confirms that, according to new estimates by American intelligence, it is possible that Putin may try to test NATO's resolve with a limited attack on an alliance country in the coming years, the publication states.