During his secretive trip to Moscow on Tuesday, CIA director John Ratcliffe urged Russian officials to do three things — not attack NATO countries, end the war in Ukraine and not aid Iran, two sources familiar with the matter told MS NOW.

The sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak freely about sensitive national security issues, said the meeting was primarily about the war in Ukraine. But they said the U.S. war with Iran was also discussed.

One of the sources said Ratcliffe told Russian officials that the United States remains committed to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which states that an attack on one member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization will be considered an attack on all.

He met with senior Russian intelligence officials, but not with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a U.S. official who was granted anonymity to describe the sensitive meeting told MS NOW.

Having the CIA director personally deliver those messages to the Kremlin appears to be a sign the Trump administration is eager to find new ways to pressure Tehran as President Donald Trump’s war with Iran approaches its seventh month — and encourage Russia to reconsider its war against Ukraine, in spite of the administration’s scaled-back support for beleaguered Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

European officials are reportedly concerned about an uptick in aggressive acts by Russia along Europe’s eastern border.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month that a recent U.S. intelligence assessment warned that Putin could try to test NATO’s resolve by launching an attack on a NATO country — ranging from a cyberattack to a small-scale land incursion into a Baltic nation. NBC News recently reported that Russia is shipping drone components, ammunition and TNT to Iran through the Caspian Sea.

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