Image: The CIA director, John Ratcliffe, and Donald Trump conduct a news conference in the White House briefing room on 6 April 2026. Photograph: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images

Robert Tait of The Guardian reports: “Donald Trump has downplayed a visit to Moscow by the CIA director, John Ratcliffe, as “semi-routine” after he turned up in the Russian capital unannounced, triggering a wave of speculation about the reasons for his trip.

Ratcliffe was reported to have flown to Moscow on a government transport plane on Tuesday in a rare visit after taking off from the Andrews air force base in Maryland.

The White House, CIA, Pentagon and the US air force all declined to comment on the visit, which was confirmed on Wednesday by a Kremlin spokesperson, Dimitry Peskov…”

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