By Open Chronicle
CIA Director John Ratcliffe made a highly secretive visit to Moscow this week, reportedly using the mission to explore whether Russian intelligence officials could help revive negotiations over the war in Ukraine and pave the way for a possible three leader summit involving Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
According to reports citing people briefed on the discussions, Ratcliffe proposed a trilateral meeting between the US, Russian and Ukrainian presidents as Washington searches for another route towards ending the conflict.
The visit represented an unusual direct intervention by the CIA director in the Trump administration’s diplomatic efforts surrounding Ukraine and was conducted with a high degree of secrecy.
Ratcliffe Reportedly Pushes Trilateral Summit
Two sources briefed on the discussions told Axios that part of Ratcliffe’s mission was to determine whether senior Russian intelligence officials could influence Putin towards resuming US mediated negotiations with Ukraine.
The proposal reportedly envisaged bringing Trump, Putin and Zelenskyy together for direct talks.
US officials subsequently briefed Zelenskyy on Friday about Ratcliffe’s discussions in Moscow and the proposal for a trilateral summit, according to the report.
Such a meeting would represent a significant escalation in Washington’s diplomatic efforts. Trump has repeatedly sought to broker an end to the Russia Ukraine war during his second term, but attempts to produce a lasting settlement have so far struggled to overcome the fundamental differences between Moscow and Kyiv.
Meetings With Russia’s Intelligence Chiefs
Ratcliffe reportedly met two of the most powerful figures in Russia’s security establishment, Foreign Intelligence Service chief Sergey Naryshkin and Federal Security Service director Alexander Bortnikov.
The reported meetings are particularly notable because the Kremlin had publicly denied that Ratcliffe held discussions with Russian officials during the visit.
If the accounts from people familiar with the mission are accurate, the trip provided Washington with a discreet intelligence channel through which it could assess Moscow’s willingness to return to negotiations.
It was also reportedly the first time Ratcliffe had become personally involved in the administration’s diplomatic effort to secure a breakthrough between Russia and Ukraine.
Mission Kept Secret Even in Washington
The secrecy surrounding the trip extended beyond the public.
According to the Wall Street Journal, some senior White House officials were unaware of the mission, while European officials were left seeking information about its purpose.
Ratcliffe reportedly travelled to Moscow aboard an unmarked US Air Force C 17 transport aircraft that departed from Latvia, an unusual journey that added to speculation about the nature of the discussions.
The lack of advance information also raised questions among Washington’s European allies about whether the United States was pursuing a separate diplomatic channel with Moscow.
Trump Calls Visit ‘Standard Business’
President Trump has sought to play down the significance of Ratcliffe’s journey.
Speaking about the CIA director’s contacts with Russian officials, Trump characterised the discussions as “standard business” and indicated that contacts between Ratcliffe and his Russian counterparts were not unusual.
Trump also rejected reports suggesting that Ratcliffe had travelled to Moscow primarily to warn Russia against attacking NATO territory.
The president has separately expressed confidence that Putin does not intend to attack a NATO member, despite continuing concerns among European governments over Russian military activity and the wider security consequences of the Ukraine war.
Intelligence Channels Become Diplomatic Tools
Ratcliffe’s reported mission illustrates how intelligence relationships can serve as unofficial diplomatic channels when conventional negotiations become stalled.
Naryshkin and Bortnikov occupy influential positions within Russia’s national security system and have direct access to the Kremlin’s decision making structures.
For Washington, discussions with them could provide an opportunity to assess whether Putin is genuinely interested in another round of negotiations before committing political capital to a presidential summit.
Such contacts could also allow both governments to exchange messages without immediately turning discussions into formal diplomatic negotiations.
That does not necessarily mean a summit is imminent.
Any meeting involving Trump, Putin and Zelenskyy would require substantial preparation and agreement on the basic parameters of negotiations. Moscow and Kyiv remain divided over territory, security guarantees, Ukraine’s military position and the conditions required for any lasting ceasefire or peace agreement.
A New Attempt to Break the Ukraine Deadlock
The reported Moscow mission nevertheless suggests that the Trump administration continues to search for alternative ways to break the diplomatic deadlock.
A trilateral summit would place the three presidents directly at the centre of negotiations and could potentially bypass some of the obstacles encountered during lower level diplomatic discussions.
It would also carry considerable political risk. A meeting without sufficient preparation could expose the depth of disagreement between Russia and Ukraine rather than produce progress towards ending the war.
Ratcliffe’s secretive journey therefore appears significant less because it guarantees new negotiations and more because it demonstrates that Washington is still exploring unconventional channels to determine whether another diplomatic opening exists.
For now, no trilateral summit has been announced. The central question is whether the intelligence contacts in Moscow can translate into renewed negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, and eventually into the direct presidential diplomacy reportedly proposed during Ratcliffe’s mission.