US Secretary of State Marco Rubio downplayed CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s surprise trip last week to Moscow, casting it as an effort to keep communication channels open with Russia.
25, when a US military cargo plane was spotted landing in Moscow. Track live updates on US Iran war Ratcliffe’s short and secretive visit took place on Aug.
“His visit there was largely routine, in that sense of just establishing and continue to build these intel-to-intel communication channels,” Rubio said in an interview on Fox News Radio with Brian Kilmeade broadcast Wednesday. “Those things can prove useful in a time of crisis or conflict,” he added. The Kremlin has said Ratcliffe did not meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. President Donald Trump previously described the trip as “semi-routine” and suggested Ukraine was among the topics on the table, adding that “Washington would like to see the war in Ukraine end. Trump also has said he did not think Putin would attack NATO territory.
