President Donald Trump personally dispatched CIA Director John Ratcliffe on a highly secretive diplomatic mission to Moscow, with the trip kept so closely guarded that even senior White House officials and military leaders who would normally receive such briefings were not informed, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Ratcliffe reportedly traveled aboard a U.S. military C-17 aircraft to Latvia before continuing into Russia. His arrival surprised European allies, who had not been informed in advance of the unusual mission.

During meetings with Russian security officials, Ratcliffe delivered a clear message that the United States remains fully committed to NATO’s Article 5 collective-defense provision, under which an attack on one member is considered an attack on all. He also warned Moscow against launching attacks on NATO countries.

Ratcliffe also discussed reviving peace negotiations with Ukraine in an effort to bring the war to an end. At the same time, he pressed Russian officials to avoid deepening economic or security ties with Iran as the Trump administration continues its sanctions campaign against Tehran.

Trump later downplayed concerns that Russian President Vladimir Putin could order an attack against NATO allies and described Ratcliffe’s journey as “semi-routine.”

The mission follows previous diplomatic efforts by Trump administration envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner that failed to halt the fighting, as Russia continued escalating its attacks and strengthening cooperation with Iran.

Experts cited in the report said Ratcliffe’s experience using intelligence channels and negotiating the release of Americans held overseas made him a potentially effective envoy to communicate directly with the Kremlin while reinforcing that Trump’s peace efforts do not come at the expense of America’s security commitments to Europe.

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