Amid speculations about the mystery trip of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director John Ratcliffe to Moscow this week, it has been revealed that the top-level meeting was to deliver a warning to Russia against attacking NATO countries, reported the Wall Street Journal, citing unidentified sources briefed on the visit.
CBS News, which also reported the same motive citing multiple sources, added that the CIA chief also warned Russia of additional sanctions if it continues supporting Iran. The prolonged war with Iran has smothered the trade flow through the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
The Kremlin, however, dismissed the US media reports on Thursday, saying, "A lot of this kind of scare-story material is being published right now. Of course, it has nothing to do with reality and nothing to do with the intentions of the Russian Federation."
Meanwhile, the head of Russia's SVR foreign intelligence service said he held a "working-level meeting" with his CIA counterpart and that they had discussed unspecified and sensitive matters falling within the remit of their respective agencies.
The revelation comes after reports claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin was mulling a limited war on Poland or one of the three Baltic states -- Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania -- in the coming years to test the resolve of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
Regarding Ratcliffe's surprise Moscow trip, US President Donald Trump claimed it was "semi-routine" and that "something may come out of" the visit.
Earlier, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the CIA chief did not meet Putin. He also did not confirm whether the visit was linked to Ukraine or Iran. "I can only tell you that contacts took place through the intelligence services," Tass news agency quoted Peskov as saying.
Separately, European Commission spokesperson Paula Pinho on Thursday said the CIA chief did not inform the European Union about this trip to Russia.
