CIA Director Ratcliffe Proposes Trump-Putin-Zelensky Summit

CIA Director John Ratcliffe proposed a trilateral meeting between President Trump, Russian President Putin, and Ukrainian President Zelensky during his covert trip to Moscow earlier this week. This was the first time Ratcliffe got personally involved in the diplomatic push to broker a breakthrough between Russia and Ukraine. Ratcliffe's visit was partly aimed at determining whether Russia's heads of intelligence services could help convince Putin to move toward resuming U.S.-mediated negotiations with Ukraine.

Ratcliffe met with his Russian counterparts, including SVR foreign intelligence chief Sergey Naryshkin and FSB director Alexander Bortnikov, during his visit. U.S. officials briefed Zelensky on Ratcliffe's talks in Moscow and the proposal for a trilateral summit on Friday. The Trump administration has raised the idea of a trilateral summit in the past, but Putin has rejected it. Zelensky has been on board with the idea.

U.S. officials told Zelensky that Ratcliffe also floated the possibility of reigniting peace talks during his visit to Moscow. The New York Times reported that Ratcliffe gave Bortnikov a bleak assessment of the state of the war and urged Russia to cut a deal before its situation worsens. The CIA declined to comment on the matter.

Ukrainian officials are highly skeptical about Putin's intentions and say they have intelligence that suggests Putin is planning a major escalation of the war. Zelensky's deputy chief of staff, Pavlo Palisa, told reporters that Putin has ordered his military to prepare several operational scenarios for an offensive in northern Ukraine.