A report by the Financial Times (FT) alleging that the U.S. administration intends to strengthen the role of CIA Director John Ratcliffe in diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine, as well as diminish the involvement of U.S. President Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner in these processes, is not true, stated White House spokesperson Anna Kelly.
"This entire story is totally fake news attributed to low-level, anonymous ‘sources’ who have no idea what they are talking about. None of these supposed conversations are happening. Special Envoy Witkoff and Jared Kushner continue to work incredibly hard towards a peace agreement, and the President trusts them fully to lead negotiations on behalf of the United States," she wrote on the X social network.
On Wednesday, the FT reported, citing sources, that the U.S. administration intended to expand the CIA director's scope of responsibility in diplomatic efforts to end the Russo-Ukrainian war.
"American officials told European counterparts that Ratcliffe is preparing to take on more authority in U.S. talks with Russia and Ukraine (...); according to five people familiar with the plans, the White House is taking this step at a time when it is exploring the possibility of reducing the participation in the process of U.S. President Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who led negotiations with Moscow and Kyiv," the publication informed.
The newspaper's interlocutors specified that U.S. President Donald Trump had not made a final decision regarding Ratcliffe's role at the time.
Later, the FT added to the article a comment from press secretary for the president of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov, who noted that the U.S. and Russian presidents did not raise the topic of possible changes to the composition of the American negotiating team during a recent phone conversation.
