The Trump administration is considering expanding CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s involvement in negotiations between Russia and Ukraine after recent U.S. diplomatic efforts failed to produce a breakthrough, though President Donald Trump has not approved a change to the negotiating team.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe could assume a larger role in U.S. efforts to negotiate an end to the Russia-Ukraine war as the Trump administration weighs changes to its diplomatic team following another round of talks that produced no major breakthrough.
The administration is considering increasing Ratcliffe’s involvement in shuttle diplomacy between Moscow and Kyiv while potentially reducing the responsibilities of special envoy Steve Witkoff and White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, according to the Financial Times. President Donald Trump has not made a final decision, and the White House has publicly denied that a restructuring has been settled.
Witkoff could remain involved in the Ukraine negotiations while continuing his broader work as Trump’s special envoy on other international conflicts, including the Middle East. Kushner could also remain engaged, although the administration is considering how to allocate its diplomatic resources as several foreign-policy crises compete for attention.
The possible change follows a renewed attempt by Witkoff and Kushner to restart negotiations this month. The two met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow before traveling to Kyiv for talks with Ukrainian officials. The discussions were described as constructive but yielded no significant agreement, with territorial and security disputes continuing to separate Russia and Ukraine.
Ratcliffe, meanwhile, has moved more directly into the diplomatic effort.
The CIA director made an unusual trip to Moscow in late August, where he met senior Russian intelligence officials and discussed Ukraine along with other security matters.
During the visit, Ratcliffe proposed a potential trilateral meeting involving Trump, Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Axios reported. The trip represented Ratcliffe’s first significant personal involvement in the administration’s effort to restart U.S.-mediated negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv.
Putin did not meet Ratcliffe during the visit.
Ratcliffe also used the Moscow trip to deliver broader security messages to Russian officials. The Wall Street Journal and Politico reported that he warned Moscow against escalating against NATO members, particularly the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
He also pressed Russian officials to reduce Moscow’s military and economic support for Iran.
Trump subsequently described Ratcliffe’s Moscow trip as “semi-routine” while reiterating the administration’s desire to end the war.
“We would like to see the war with Ukraine end,” Trump said.
The administration’s renewed diplomatic push comes as direct negotiations remain stalled and fighting continues more than four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
The Kremlin said Wednesday it hoped U.S.-mediated negotiations with Ukraine would resume soon, while major disagreements remain over territory and other conditions for ending the war. Ukraine continues to reject Russian demands for territorial concessions, while Moscow has shown no public indication that it is prepared to abandon several of its longstanding requirements.
European officials have reportedly responded favorably to the possibility of Ratcliffe taking a larger role, while Ukrainian officials told the Financial Times that Kyiv has workable relationships with all three American negotiators and is not focused on which individual leads the effort.
“We’re OK with [Ratcliffe], and with Jared and Steve too,” one Ukrainian official said. “The problem is the Russians.”
The administration has not announced a formal change in responsibilities.
For now, Ratcliffe’s growing involvement signals that Washington is exploring additional diplomatic channels as it searches for a way to restart negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv, while Witkoff and Kushner remain part of the U.S. effort and Trump retains the final decision over how the negotiating team will be structured.
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