The visit of CIA director John Ratcliffe this week to Moscow was intended to warn Russia not to attack NATO member states, amid US intelligence assessments indicating that the Kremlin might try to test the organization, as reported this Wednesday by The Wall Street Journal.
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According to the newspaper, US officials are concerned that Russian President Vladimir Putin, cornered in Ukraine and under pressure at home, could launch an attack ranging from a cyberattack to a small-scale ground incursion, likely against a Baltic country.
The probable objective would not necessarily be to trigger a war, but to test NATO’s unity and the Donald Trump administration’s willingness to defend its allies, according to sources in Washington.
Several people familiar with the matter who spoke with The Wall Street Journal said that on his trip Ratcliffe also mentioned Iran, warning of additional sanctions if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened to maritime traffic.
As reported by CBS, the secret visit to the Russian capital became known this Tuesday, after a US Air Force plane was seen landing at a Moscow airport and a diplomatic convoy traveled through the city.
A senior Ukrainian official also detailed to CBS that the CIA informed Ukraine that a US delegation would travel to Moscow and was asked to suspend attacks during the visit.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the press today that Ratcliffe held talks with Russian intelligence officials during his stay in the capital, but that he did not meet with Putin, but the president was informed of these conversations.
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For his part, President Trump confirmed the CIA chief’s visit in an interview with radio host Glenn Beck this morning, but stated that it was not related to Iran or Russian desires to test NATO, describing it as a “semi-routine” trip.
Trump said that “something could come out” of Ratcliffe’s visit, referring to his initiative to end Russia’s war with Ukraine.
According to US officials, a series of recent Russian actions have raised concern, including drone incursions into Romania, a Russian missile that crossed into Poland last month, and an increase in alleged acts of sabotage and cyberattacks in Europe.
In accordance with Article 5 of the treaty that created NATO, alliance members are expected to defend each other in the event of an attack, a provision that the US invoked after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
However, the US head of state has long questioned NATO’s reliability and criticized its member states for, in his opinion, not contributing enough to their own defense.
As CBS highlighted, Trump has also publicly pressured Russia and Ukraine to end their four-year war, although diplomatic efforts appear to have stalled. This at the same time that Russia has maintained its alliance with Iran during the war between Washington and Tehran, providing it with intelligence on US positions in the region. Likewise, both countries have also cooperated for years in drone manufacturing.
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