White House denies reports of larger role for CIA director in ending Russia's war against Ukraine
A report by the Financial Times (FT) alleging that the U.S.
The Financial Times reported that the U.S. administration plans to increase CIA Director John Ratcliffe's role in diplomatic efforts to bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, while simultaneously reducing the involvement of President Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner in these negotiations.
However, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly vehemently denied these claims, stating that the story is "totally fake news" and attributing it to anonymous sources with no knowledge of the actual situation.
President Trump's Special Envoy Witkoff and his son-in-law Kushner, who have been leading the negotiations with Moscow and Kyiv, continue to work tirelessly towards a peace agreement, Kelly emphasized on the social media platform X. The White House is in full support of their efforts and trusts them to lead these discussions on behalf of the United States, she added.
According to the FT, the U.S. administration is considering this change in the scope of Ratcliffe's responsibilities as it explores the potential of reducing the participation of Witkoff and Kushner in the negotiations. However, it is important to note that U.S. President Donald Trump has not yet made a final decision on Ratcliffe's role.
Russian President Dmitry Peskov responded to the report, noting that the presidents of the U.S. and Russia did not discuss any potential changes to the American negotiating team during a recent phone conversation.
Written by urgent.news from Interfax-Ukraine's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
