Kash Patel, a longtime ally of US President Donald Trump, is reportedly visiting Russia in October
FBI Director Kash Patel plans to travel to Russia later this year, Politico reported Monday, citing a U.S. official and another person familiar with the matter.
According to the publication, Patel is scheduled to visit Moscow and St. Petersburg on October 14-15 and is expected to meet with officials from the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB). The last known FBI director to visit Russia was Robert Mueller in 2013.
A longtime ally of President Donald Trump, Patel has worked to counter Democratic allegations that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia during the 2016 presidential election, a theory he has dismissed as “The Russiagate Deception.”
Last week, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov again denied what he called “baseless” allegations that Russia sought to influence the outcome of the US election.
Direct talks on the Ukraine conflict, restarted by President Donald Trump last year, have stalled in recent months as the United States has been preoccupied with wars in the Middle East.
Although Moscow has repeatedly said it is ready to resume talks, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said earlier this month that the West was. “to demonstrate a willingness to negotiate while making clear statements to Russia.”
“We will no longer believe the West when it claims to want negotiated solutions. Our reservoir of goodwill and hope has been exhausted once and for all,” Lavrov said.
Russian officials have largely blamed Ukraine’s European backers for trying to undermine the talks. Following a call between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on July 4, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov praised the US leader for “be open to hearing” Russia’s position on Ukraine.
The report about Patel’s planned visit also comes as a fragile U.S.-Iran deal collapsed last week, with both sides blaming each other for violating a memorandum of understanding signed June 17. The U.S. launched airstrikes against Iran for the tenth consecutive night on Tuesday, prompting Iran to retaliate with missiles and drones aimed at U.S. bases.
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