CIA Director John Ratcliffe reportedly proposed a trilateral summit between President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a trip to Moscow this week, aiming to revive stalled peace negotiations.
Ratcliffe’s Moscow trip marks first personal push for peace
Ratcliffe met Russian intelligence chiefs Sergey Naryshkin and Alexander Bortnikov during an undisclosed Tuesday trip to Moscow, Axios reported Saturday, citing two sources briefed on the matter. It marks his first personal role in the diplomatic effort.
U.S. officials briefed Zelensky on Friday about the proposed trilateral meeting, according to the report. Trump has floated the idea before and Zelensky has backed it, but Putin has so far declined, the sources said.
Trump told Axios that Ratcliffe’s visit was “standard business,” not a warning to Russia against striking NATO territory. The New York Times separately reported that Ratcliffe gave Bortnikov a “bleak assessment” of the war and urged Russia to strike a deal before its position worsens.
CIA did not immediately respond to Benzinga‘s request for comment.
Trump has previously met Putin in Alaska and Zelensky at the White House separately in bids to end the war, which began in 2022. A three-way summit has yet to happen.
Deadly Strike Near Kyiv underscores the urgency
The proposal comes as a Russian drone strike killed at least 37 people overnight Friday in Myla, a village in Kyiv’s Bucha district, officials said, marking one of the war’s deadliest attacks this year.
Following the attack, Zelensky posted a video on X saying, “A criminal investigation is under way. All the facts must be established.”
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