White House denies media reports about increased role of Ratcliffe

The White House denied a Financial Times report about a possible enhancement of the role of CIA Director John Ratcliffe in negotiations to end Russia's war against Ukraine and a reduction in participation by Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. In the administration of Donald Trump, they stated that the current negotiators retain their authority and enjoy the full trust of the president.

This was stated by White House spokesperson Anna Kelly, commenting on the Financial Times report.

Kelly called the report unreliable and said that the discussions described by the FT about the redistribution of powers within the American negotiating team are not taking place.

According to her, the special envoy of the US President Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner continue to work on achieving a peace agreement, and Trump fully trusts them to negotiate on behalf of the United States.

The White House spokesperson also accused the Financial Times of publishing the material before the previously agreed deadline for providing a comment from the administration, and then indicated that the White House refused to comment on the publication.

Earlier on September 9, the Financial Times, citing five informed interlocutors, reported that CIA Director John Ratcliffe could get a more prominent role in Washington's diplomatic efforts on Ukraine.

According to the publication, American officials allegedly informed European colleagues about the possibility of more active involvement of Ratcliffe in the so-called shuttle diplomacy between Moscow and Kyiv. At the same time, the White House, as FT sources claimed, was considering reducing the participation of Witkoff and Kushner in this area.

Even the Financial Times sources emphasized that the US President had not yet made a final decision on possible changes in the negotiating team.

The publication also reported that Ratcliffe could continue to maintain contacts with representatives of the Russian and Ukrainian special services. His possible strengthening was associated, among other things, with the recent visit of the CIA director to Moscow, where he held negotiations with Russian representatives.

Witkoff and Kushner in recent months had remained key representatives of the Trump administration in contacts with Moscow and Kyiv. In early September, they again visited both capitals in an attempt to move the cease-fire negotiations forward, however, no public breakthrough was announced after those meetings.

Thus, at the moment, the information about a change in the distribution of roles in the American negotiating team remains a version of the Financial Times sources, which the White House officially rejects.

Based on materials from: Financial Times, LIGA.net