Donald Trump came back to the White House claiming to have a good relationship with Vladimir Putin, vowing to end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours. (Reuters: Evan Vucci)
Remember the Central Intelligence Agency? The US intelligence agency which once seemed to wander the world creating wars and instability and inspiring countless thrillers?
You don't seem to hear so much about the CIA these days. Who needs a bunch of shadowy spooks to create world chaos when you have the US president doing it all by himself?
But the CIA has been back in the headlines this week after it was revealed its director, John Ratcliffe, had just made a trip to Moscow, variously described in US media as "mysterious" or "a surprise", to talk to his Russian counterparts.
Intriguingly (as all spooky things invariably should be) that is about all the media reports agree upon.
Central Intelligence Agency director John Ratcliffe met with Russian intelligence officials in Moscow this week. (Reuters: Kevin Lamarque)
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow on Wednesday that Ratcliffe held talks with Russian intelligence officials during his time in the Russian capital, but that he didn't meet with Putin. Putin was briefed on the talks, Peskov said.
Depending on whether you read the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal or the Washington Post, Ratcliffe may have met with the head of Russia's FSB intelligence service, or the foreign intelligence service, the SVR, or both.
But what is most striking about the reporting of this meeting is the different spin on the apparent reason for the unexpected trip.
The New York Times reported that Ratcliffe went to Moscow "to privately share his bleak assessment of the state of the Russian war against Ukraine, and to urge the Russians to cut a deal before their military and economic situation gets worse".
The Washington Post reported Ratcliffe's trip was "preceded by fresh US intelligence indicating that the Kremlin sees the United States as weakened by the Iran war, offering Russia an opportunity to escalate action against American interests and allies in Europe".
The Wall Street Journal hedged its bets by saying the mission was "so sensitive that even some senior White House officials didn't know about it ahead of time".
Trump, the Journal said, had "personally dispatched" Ratcliffe "after previous rounds of negotiations using other trusted envoys failed to stop the fighting in Russia's war with Ukraine".
"Over the past few months, Moscow has escalated its attacks on Ukraine, boosted support for Iran's regime and resisted American attempts to improve economic ties," it noted.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been escalating his threats against European countries. (Reuters: Alexander Kazakov)
