John Ratcliffe may become more involved in peace talks regarding Ukraine

So far, the talks with Russia and Ukraine have been handled by Steve Witkoff, a long-time friend of Donald Trump who officially holds the office of the US President's special envoy for peacekeeping missions, and Jared Kushner, who does not formally hold any position, but privately is the American leader's son-in-law.

This may change soon, however - the Financial Times reports, citing five people familiar with the matter, that the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, John Ratcliffe, will become more involved in the peace talks. American officials were to inform their European partners about the possible increase in the role of the head of the CIA.

Trump himself has not yet made a final decision on possible changes in the negotiating team, reports the British daily.

Competence disputes

Mediations lasting over a year and a half have brought almost no progress, and Russian President Vladimir Putin does not want to give up his tough demands - reminds the Financial Times. Moscow is demanding, among other things, that Kiev give up the part of Donbas that remains under its control and give up its aspirations to join NATO. Ukraine rejects these conditions.

American diplomatic efforts further weakened with the outbreak of the U.S.-Iran war in February.

"Witkoff's relaxed approach, which bypasses the limitations of traditional diplomacy in favor of direct contacts resembling transactions on the New York real estate market, has frustrated Russia, Ukraine and Kiev's Western allies," the British daily notes. The newspaper adds that there were also disputes over competences between Ratcliffe and Witkoff.

The need for systematic and organized work

At the end of August, the head of the CIA flew on an unannounced visit to Moscow, during which he talked with senior Russian intelligence officials about the wars in Ukraine and Iran, as well as the Kremlin's hybrid threats against Europe - writes "FT".

A few days later, Witkoff and Kushner went to Moscow and Kiev, but according to people familiar with the situation, they brought almost no new proposals. "There is also no indication that Putin's position has changed," the newspaper adds.

One of the daily's sources emphasizes that the war in Ukraine "is a very complex conflict" whose resolution requires "systematic, organized, full-time work," and the current negotiators do not have such an approach.