Secretary of State Marco Rubio brushed off various reports about CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s furtive visit to Russia last week, stating in a Fox News Radio episode aired Wednesday that the spy agency’s leader was there solely to open a dialogue with Russian officials.
Rubio acknowledged Ratcliffe’s visit, which was also confirmed by President Donald Trump in a separate radio interview with conservative political commentator Glenn Beck. At that time, Trump called Ratcliffe’s visit “semi-routine.”
Ratcliffe’s first known trip to Russia as CIA director, which began on Aug. 25, sparked a variety of news reports about what was discussed. According to those reports, discussion topics included a possible trilateral meeting between Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy; a plea for Russia to pursue a peace deal with Ukraine; and a warning against attacking NATO countries.