CIA Director Ratcliffe Poised to Take Over US-Russia Talks as White House Weighs Sidelining Witkoff and Kushner

Five sources familiar with the plans told the Financial Times that the White House is weighing a reduction in the negotiating roles of Witkoff, Trump's special envoy, and Kushner, the president's son-in-law, who have recently led the track aimed at ending the war.

Witkoff is likely to keep his post as special envoy and could continue to take part in the talks alongside Ratcliffe, the FT reported. Kushner has told friends he hopes to shift from the Russia-Ukraine war to finishing the war in the Gaza Strip and the US-Israeli war against Iran. Trump has not made a final decision.

Ratcliffe visited Moscow on August 25. According to TV Rain, he held talks with Sergei Naryshkin, the head of the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), and Alexander Bortnikov, the director of the Federal Security Service (FSB). Axios reported that the CIA director proposed holding a summit between Trump, Putin and Zelensky. Trump later described the visit as "an ordinary working meeting."

The Financial Times, citing two sources, confirmed that Putin had planned to meet Ratcliffe during his trip but declined to do so. Agentstvo reported this first, after which the Kremlin tried to deny it. According to an Agentstvo source close to the Kremlin, Ratcliffe urged the Russian leadership to agree on ending the war as soon as possible.

Witkoff's visit to Russia last Saturday may be his last, The Moscow Times wrote: his eight trips to Moscow and one to Kyiv ended without result. On September 5 and 6, Witkoff and Kushner held talks in turn with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine, and the sides allowed for the possibility of trilateral talks in the future.

At the same time, the Kremlin has signaled to Washington that it is ready to consider a new approach from the US, people involved in informal contacts told the FT. In Moscow, according to Ukrainian officials and people familiar with the Kremlin's position, Witkoff is seen as partly responsible for the lack of a breakthrough at the Putin-Trump meeting in Alaska in August 2025.

A struggle has unfolded between Ratcliffe and Witkoff over who will play the leading role and on which issues, two FT sources said. Before Trump's envoys visited Moscow, Ratcliffe unexpectedly flew there himself. Sources at The Washington Post later said the CIA director's visit did not impress Putin, who saw it more as a sign of weakness and decided to escalate, intensifying strikes on Ukraine.

White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly called the FT report "completely fake news based on anonymous low-level sources who have no idea what they are talking about." According to her, Witkoff and Kushner continue to work on a peace agreement, and Trump fully trusts them to conduct negotiations on behalf of the United States. The CIA declined to comment.

The accounts diverge: the Financial Times, citing five sources, reports the White House plans to hand the leading role to Ratcliffe and describes a struggle between him and Witkoff. White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly calls the report "completely fake" and says Witkoff and Kushner continue to lead the talks with Trump's full trust.