The CIA Director’s Not-So-Secret Trip to Moscow

This episode unpacks the potential purposes and implications of CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s recent surprise trip to Moscow.

Host:

James M. Lindsay (cfr.org/experts/james-m-lindsay), Mary and David Boies Distinguished Senior Fellow in U.S. Foreign Policy, CFR

Guest:

Stephen Sestanovich (cfr.org/experts/stephen-sestanovich), George F. Kennan Senior Fellow for Russian and Eurasian Studies, CFR

We Discuss:

• What is actually known about CIA Director John Ratcliffe's unannounced trip to Moscow, and how the visit became public.

• Whether Ratcliffe's conspicuous arrival by military aircraft across the Latvian border suggests the publicity was deliberate rather than a failed attempt at secrecy.

• Competing explanations for the visit's purpose, from warning Russia against escalation to sending a message on Iran.

• How unusual it is for a CIA director to make such a trip, and how it compares to Bill Burns's 2021 visit to Moscow.

• How the intended audiences for the visit may include not just the Kremlin but also Russian and European elites, as well as the U.S. Congress as it weighs a new Russia sanctions bill.

• Whether the trip is part of an effort to relieve domestic political pressure on Donald Trump, who faces demands to get tough on Russia.

• How the Trump administration has struggled to reconcile firmness toward Russia with openness to diplomacy, including ambiguity surrounding the Alaska summit and a proposed tripartite summit.

Mentioned on the Episode:

Vladimir Putin, with Nataliya Gevorkyan, Natalya Timakova, and Andrei Kolesnikov, First Person: An Astonishingly Frank Self-Portrait by Russia’s President Vladimir Putin (hachettebookgroup.com/titles/vladimir-putin/fi…), PublicAffairs

Barak Ravid, “CIA Director Ratcliffe Floated Trump-Putin-Zelensky Summit During Moscow Visit, Sources Say (axios.com/2026/08/29/cia-director-ratcliffe-pu…),” Axios

“Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025 (S.1241) (congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1…),” U.S. Congress

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at: cfr.org/podcasts/presidents-inbox/the-cia-dire…

Opinions expressed on The President’s Inbox are solely those of the host or guests, not of CFR, which takes no institutional positions on matters of policy.