Media: CIA chief may get a more prominent role in Ukraine talks
CIA Director John Ratcliffe is preparing to receive a more significant role in U.S. negotiations with Russia and Ukraine. The White House is considering reducing the involvement of presidential special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in the Ukraine track, but Donald Trump has not yet made a final decision.
This is reported by the Financial Times, citing five people familiar with the discussions in the American administration.
According to the publication, U.S. officials have already told European counterparts that Ratcliffe could become more actively involved in Washington's diplomatic efforts, aimed at breaking the impasse in negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
The CIA director is expected to participate in shuttle diplomacy between Moscow and Kyiv—a track that Witkoff and Kushner have recently predominantly handled. At the same time, Ratcliffe will continue to maintain contacts with representatives of Ukrainian and Russian intelligence services.
This is not yet about a formal replacement of Witkoff. According to the FT, he will likely retain his position as Trump's special envoy for peace matters and will be able to continue working on the Russian-Ukrainian settlement in parallel with the CIA director.
Meanwhile, debate continues within the administration on the division of responsibilities among the negotiating team. The publication writes of tension between Witkoff's entourage and Ratcliffe amid a possible redistribution of roles.
Kushner, for his part, may scale back his involvement in the Ukraine track and focus on other foreign policy tasks for the Trump administration, primarily the situation in Gaza and the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran.
The White House publicly denies that a decision to change the composition of the negotiating team has already been made. Trump himself has not officially approved the new negotiating scheme.
In Kyiv, according to the FT, the possible reshuffle is viewed neutrally. Ukrainian officials told the publication that they have working relations with all American negotiators and do not favor any of them. The Ukrainian side considers Russia's hardline position to be the main problem in the negotiation process.
The potential strengthening of Ratcliffe's role is discussed after his surprise visit to Moscow in late August. It was the first time he was directly involved in diplomatic efforts around the Russia-Ukraine war.
During the trip, the CIA director met with representatives of Russian special services. According to Axios, Ratcliffe also proposed holding a trilateral meeting involving Trump, Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin to try to restart the negotiating process.
After that, in early September, Witkoff and Kushner visited Moscow and Kyiv. Their talks with Putin and Zelensky did not lead to a breakthrough: the parties continued discussing a possible settlement, but key disagreements remained.
Based on materials from: Financial Times, Axios
