The purpose of CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s visit to Moscow this week was to warn Russia not to attack NATO member states, according to multiple people familiar with the matter, amid U.S. intelligence assessments that Russia could try to test NATO.
The purpose of CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s visit to Moscow this week was to warn Russia not to attack NATO member states, according to multiple people familiar with the matter, amid U.S. intelligence assessments that Russia could try to test NATO.
This has nothing to do with influence. The US doesn’t want to intervene in Europe, but they are bound by NATO. Trump could decide he doesn’t care, but the consequences of not helping a NATO country would be far more damaging to the US, a country the whole world hates right now (apart from Israel maybe).
Ratcliffe knows this and my guess is he’s trying to convince Moscow that Trump doesn’t call all the shots.