The Kremlin confirmed on Wednesday that US foreign intelligence chief John Ratcliffe had held a series of high-level talks the previous day in Moscow, but denied reports that he had spoken with President Vladimir Putin.
CIA Director Ratcliffe had "contacts between security services," according to Russian government spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Peskov said that President Putin had been "informed without delay" as to the content of the talks, but had not attended the meetings.
He added that he was unsure if the discussions could move US-Russian relations out of their current "profound crisis" and would not confirm if the group had discussed the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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