CIA chief’s Moscow stopover benefits Latvia, analyst says

CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s flight to a secret visit in Moscow via Riga has benefited Latvia by drawing attention to the Baltic states and NATO’s commitment to protect them, political scientist Andis Kudors told Latvian Television’s Rīta panorāma programme, LSM reported.

Ratcliffe travelled from Washington and changed planes at Riga Airport before continuing to Moscow. Kudors, a lecturer at the University of Latvia’s Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, said the route was “symbolically” favourable for Latvia.

“If there were also other talks here, then even better,” Kudors said.

He noted that Ratcliffe is not pro-Russian and has specialised in Russian affairs. Before becoming CIA director, Ratcliffe served as director of national intelligence, a position that Kudors described as even more important because it involves compiling information from several intelligence services before presenting it to the US president.

Kudors said Ratcliffe was known for taking a firm position, meaning Russian officials would not be able to confuse or surprise him in talks.

US media have reported that Ratcliffe warned Russian officials during his Moscow visit not to escalate tensions with NATO, particularly by threatening the Baltic states.

“The fact that the Baltics are at the centre of attention in this regard is very favourable for us,” Kudors said. He added that the attention countered Russian propaganda claiming that NATO’s Article 5 was ineffective and that the United States did not care about the Baltic states.

Kudors said US President Donald Trump would now bear responsibility for doing everything possible to ensure that Russia respected the Baltic states.

Ratcliffe travelled to Moscow for secret talks on Tuesday, August 25, arriving from Riga aboard a US Air Force Boeing C-17A Globemaster III military transport aircraft. The visit had not been announced in advance.