Trump Says CIA Chief's Russia Trip Was 'Semi-Routine' and Not to Expect Too Much

[Financial News]  

U.S. President Donald Trump said on the 26th, local time, that people should not expect too much from news that the CIA chief had visited Russia.
According to The Hill, a congressional news outlet, Trump said on a talk show hosted by conservative radio host Glenn Beck that John Ratcliffe's trip to Russia this week was "semi-routine" and added, "I hate disappointing people extremely."
It is true that Ratcliffe visited Moscow and met with Russian intelligence officials, but exchanges between intelligence officials from the two countries are routine, and no one should jump to conclusions that something major is about to happen.
Trump said, "John Ratcliffe is a fantastic friend and the CIA director," adding, "He went there for none of the reasons you are talking about." He was responding to a question from Beck about whether Ratcliffe's trip to Russia was intended to test NATO's cohesion. Trump stressed, "He did not go for any grand reason like that."
He did not rule out the possibility that the trip could still produce some kind of result.
He said, "Still, something could come out of it," and added, "Frankly, both sides, Russia and Ukraine, now want this war to end."
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on the 26th that Ratcliffe met with Russian intelligence officials in Moscow but did not meet with President Vladimir Putin. He added, "Of course, President Putin was briefed immediately on everything."
This was Ratcliffe's first trip to Russia since he took office as CIA director last year.
Separately, the Financial Times reported that the Trump administration asked Ukraine not to use long-range missiles to strike deep inside Russia for three days, from the 24th to the 26th. The move was interpreted as being linked to the CIA chief's visit to Russia.


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