Agenstvo: CIA director traveled to Moscow to urge peace talks. Putin planned to meet him but changed his mind.

Vladimir Putin had planned to meet with CIA Director John Ratcliffe during his August 25 visit to Moscow but called it off after learning the purpose of the trip, a source close to the Kremlin told the independent Russian investigative outlet Agentstvo.

According to the source, Ratcliffe urged Russian leadership to reach a deal to end the war with Ukraine as soon as possible, arguing that Russia’s military and economic situation is deteriorating and that the Kremlin would be better off striking a deal now rather than waiting to weaken further.

Ratcliffe met with Sergey Naryshkin, head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), and Alexander Bortnikov, head of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), according to Western media. The substance of one of those conversations reached Putin, prompting the Kremlin to call off his personal meeting with Ratcliffe — a meeting Putin had initially cleared his schedule to hold.

The New York Times previously reported that Ratcliffe shared with Bortnikov his “bleak assessment” of Russia’s position in the war with Ukraine and called for peace talks to begin.

The Agentstvo source said the CIA director’s message sounded as though “Volodymyr Zelensky is already standing on Poklonnaya Hill, looking at the Kremlin through binoculars.” “Everyone understands that’s not the case. It seems Ratcliffe got the wrong address,” he added.

It remains unclear whether the CIA director’s position on the Russia–Ukraine war reflected the view of the White House as a whole.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s visit to Moscow marked the first trip by the head of the American intelligence agency to Russia since the start of the full-scale war. The visit was unannounced and conducted in secrecy.

The Kremlin announced that Putin did not meet with Ratcliffe, though the American official spoke with representatives of Russia’s intelligence agencies.

Western media have offered several theories about the purpose of the CIA director’s visit, from urging the start of peace talks and warning against an attack on NATO countries to calling for reduced cooperation with Iran.

According to the American news outlet Axios, Ratcliffe also proposed a meeting of the presidents of the United States, Russia, and Ukraine. The Kremlin stated that such a meeting would only be possible to “finalize agreements.”