Military pilot and retired Major General Vladimir Popov suggested that the arrival of a US Air Force Boeing C-17 in Moscow could be connected to preparations for high-level contacts between Russia and the United States.

Popov said the aircraft may have brought American representatives to Moscow to help coordinate a possible meeting between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. He also did not rule out that Moscow and Washington are currently discussing issues that require direct negotiations, including matters related to Ukraine.

According to Popov, sensitive or complex issues are often better handled through face-to-face talks rather than by phone, particularly when the sides need to reach specific agreements.

On the morning of August 25, a US Air Force Boeing C-17 Globemaster III with the call sign RCH4555 landed at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport.

Flightradar24 data showed that the aircraft departed Riga at around 8:50 a.m. Moscow time and landed at Vnukovo at 10:04 a.m. Two days earlier, on August 23, the same aircraft had flown to Riga from Camp Springs in the United States, where Andrews Air Force Base is located and where the US presidential aircraft is based.