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 in an effort to end the war, two sources briefed on the matter told Axios.
Why it matters: 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, the sources said.
- On Friday, U.S. officials briefed Zelensky on Ratcliffe’s talks in Moscow and the proposal for a trilateral summit.
- The Trump administration has raised the idea in the past. Zelensky has been on board, but Putin has rejected it.
Driving the news: Ratcliffe made a covert trip to Moscow on Tuesday and met with his Russian counterparts: SVR foreign intelligence chief Sergey Naryshkin and FSB director Alexander Bortnikov.
- Trump told Axios that Ratcliffe’s visit was “standard business” and not intended to warn Russia against attacking NATO territory.
Behind the scenes: U.S. officials told Zelensky that Ratcliffe also floated in Moscow the possibility of reigniting peace talks, the sources said.
- 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 sources told Axios that Ratcliffe concluded that Bortnikov is a constructive player who could help restart diplomatic efforts.
- The CIA declined to comment.
Yes, but: 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 on Friday that Putin has ordered his military to prepare several operational scenarios for an offensive in northern Ukraine, with Kyiv and Chernihiv identified as key areas.
Zelensky’s chief of staff, Kyrylo Budanov, told local media on Thursday that U.S.-mediated talks with Russia could resume in September.
What they’re saying: Zelensky on Friday thanked the U.S. for “the necessary tone of the conversation with Russia” and said the Trump administration “is advancing a realistic vision of what needs to be done and what must be achieved.”
This Ratcliffe is one dumb fuck.
A trumputler-Zel meeting?
Two on one.
Two criminals and a politician.
Might as well make it Lavrov-Putler-Zel for all the difference it would make.
“We do not have any plans to occupy Ukrainian territories. We are not going to impose anything on anyone by force.”
Putler on Feb 24, 2022.
That same day, Russian forces rolled across the border into Ukraine. Four and a half years later, they’re still there.
That post from RT was dug out by Ukraine’s only reliable Polish friend; Radoslaw Sikorski.
Was this meeting for the benefit of Ukraine, or for the benefit of TACO, leading up to the midterms?
The only thing Trump can do to help the GOP in the midterms is for him to keep quiet, and that’s not going to happen.
Miracles might happen, but I don’t quite see it.
Yeah, it was the same thing with Obama, the candidates don’t want people that are divisive associated with their campaigns. For obvious reasons.
Whatever happens in November, I don’t think it’s going to be pretty.
It’s too late. The GOP is dead.
lol, you’re not just a military general but you’re a political adviser too? Or are you just repeating what you heard from the commies again? Someone who claims to prefer a democracy should, by definition, support having a strong political opposition, in which case, one of the parties, dead, would be an authoritarian system, which you claim in bad. This is the result of barking what you’re told to bark. Much like Lavrov and Zakharova do…
Go for a long walk on a short pier, maga midget.
KGB Detected put out another new video yesterday.
Just uploaded it.