According to a report by the American news website Axios on August 29th, local time, two people familiar with the matter revealed that during a secret visit to Moscow earlier this week, CIA Director John Ratcliffe proposed that U.S. President Trump, Russian President Putin, and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy hold a trilateral meeting aimed at ending the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
According to sources, part of Ratcliffe’s trip was to determine whether the head of Russia’s intelligence agency could help persuade Putin to resume U.S.- mediated negotiations with Ukraine. This is Ratcliffe’s first personal involvement in diplomatic efforts to facilitate a breakthrough between Russia and Ukraine.
On the 28th local time, American officials informed Zelenskyy about Ratklev’s meeting in Moscow and the proposal for a trilateral summit.
Lattcliffe went to Moscow secretly on Tuesday and met with Sergei Naryshkin, Director of the Russian Federal Security Service, and Alexander Bortnikov, Director of the Federal Security Service.
Trump told Axios that Latcliff’s visit was a “routine activity”, and not intended to warn Russia not to attack NATO territories.
