CIA Director Made Secret Trip to Moscow, US Media Report
US media have reported that the director of the CIA, John Ratcliffe, made a secret visit to Moscow.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Ratcliffe travelled on a military aircraft and spent eight hours in the Russian capital.
The trip was kept confidential, and details only became public after the newspaper's report.
US officials reportedly said the purpose of the visit was to warn Russia against attacking NATO member countries.
NATO is a military alliance of the United States and several European nations, formed to defend member states from outside attack.
The report suggests Washington wanted to send a direct message to Moscow through a high-level intelligence channel.
It is not clear from the available information exactly which NATO countries were mentioned or what response, if any, Russia gave.
The visit comes amid ongoing tension between Russia and Western countries.
Neither the CIA nor the Kremlin has publicly confirmed the details reported by The Wall Street Journal.
This kind of secret meeting between senior intelligence officials is unusual and suggests the matter was seen as urgent.
Vocabulary10 words
- CIA
- the main US agency that collects secret information abroad
- military
- relating to soldiers, weapons, or the armed forces
- confidential
- kept secret from most people
- warn
- to tell someone about a danger in advance
- NATO
- a group of countries that agree to defend each other
- alliance
- an agreement between countries to work together
- tension
- a difficult situation where conflict may happen
- Kremlin
- the center of the Russian government
- intelligence
- secret information gathered about other countries
- senior
- high in rank or importance
Quiz
Answer key
1. US officials speaking to the newspaper 2. To warn Russia against attacking NATO countries 3. False
Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
US media have reported that the director of the CIA, John Ratcliffe, made a secret visit to _____.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Ratcliffe travelled on a military _____ and spent eight hours in the Russian capital.
The trip was kept _____, and details only became public after the newspaper's report.
US officials reportedly said the purpose of the visit was to _____ Russia against attacking NATO member countries.
NATO is a military _____ of the United States and several European nations, formed to defend member states from outside attack.
The report suggests Washington wanted to send a direct message to Moscow through a high-level _____ channel.
It is not clear from the available information exactly which NATO countries were mentioned or what _____, if any, Russia gave.
The visit comes amid ongoing _____ between Russia and Western countries.
Neither the CIA nor the _____ has publicly confirmed the details reported by The Wall Street Journal.