The White House has denied a Financial Times report suggesting that US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner could see their roles in negotiations to end the war in Ukraine reduced.
Citing five people familiar with the US administration’s plans, the Financial Times reported that Washington was allegedly considering changes to its negotiating team.
According to the newspaper, Witkoff’s latest trip to Moscow may have been his last in his current role. He has visited the Russian capital seven times, but his contacts with the Russian leadership have so far failed to produce noticeable progress in the peace process.
The report said the White House could scale back the involvement of Witkoff and US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. CIA Director John Ratcliffe could reportedly assume a more prominent role.
According to the FT, US officials close to the CIA director had already informed their European counterparts about the possible change. Ratcliffe could reportedly take over part of the shuttle diplomacy efforts while maintaining contacts with Ukrainian and Russian intelligence officials.
However, the White House categorically rejected these claims. Administration spokesperson Anna Kelly said there were no discussions about replacing the negotiating team or reducing the roles of Witkoff and Kushner.
According to Kelly, Trump continues to fully trust both men to negotiate on behalf of the United States on ending the war in Ukraine.
“This entire story is completely fake news attributed to low-level anonymous ‘sources’ who have no idea what they are talking about. None of these alleged discussions are taking place,” Kelly said.
She stressed that Witkoff and Kushner continue to make significant efforts to secure a peace agreement.
“Special Envoy Witkoff and Jared Kushner continue to work incredibly hard to achieve a peace deal, and the president fully trusts them to conduct negotiations on behalf of the United States,” the White House statement said.
Kelly also denied that the Trump administration had refused to comment before the article was published. According to her, the Financial Times released the story ahead of the agreed deadline, preventing the White House from submitting its response in time.
The administration spokesperson sharply criticized the FT, accusing the newspaper of publishing inaccurate information based on claims from anonymous sources. She said the publication had “sunk to the level of a left-wing tabloid” with no interest in verifying the accuracy of the information it published.
The Financial Times therefore maintains that the US administration is considering redistributing roles within the negotiating process, while the White House categorically denies that such plans exist and reiterates Trump’s confidence in Witkoff and Kushner.
