Optimism and skepticism: CIA and US State Department disagree on Putin’s readiness for peace

U.S. intelligence agencies have been divided on Vladimir Putin’s willingness to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine. While CIA analysts were more optimistic, the State Department doubted the Russian dictator’s willingness to compromise.

This is reported by The Wall Street Journal .

According to the publication, in early 2025, the State Department’s domestic intelligence service, the Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR), questioned Putin’s willingness to engage in peace talks. INR analysts expressed doubts in numerous assessments and briefings, including before US President Donald Trump’s meeting with Putin in Anchorage in August.

Sources note that the State Department’s negative assessment of Putin’s intentions also appeared in the US president’s daily briefings. At the same time, the CIA believed that Trump could find opportunities for negotiations with the Russian dictator.

INR analysts emphasized Putin’s priority on the “demilitarization” and “denazification” of Ukraine and expressed doubts that he would abandon maximalist demands. The State Department believed that no compromise should be expected from Putin.

According to the publication, INR management noted that the different assessments were damaging the agency’s credibility among Trump administration officials. As a result, several analysts were fired, and one resigned voluntarily.

Earlier, it was reported that President Donald Trump abruptly canceled a peace summit with Vladimir Putin and imposed sanctions on Russia over the lack of progress in talks.The decision was partly driven by an assessment by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who advocated a tougher stance on Moscow.

By the way, US President Donald Trump has chosen a middle option for sanctions against Russia , which focuses on the energy sector, rather than a complete blockade of the industry. This decision paves the way for further steps, including the transfer of Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine.

As reported, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin said that new United States sanctions will not affect the Russian economy in any way.

Subsequently, US President DonaldTrump sarcastically commented on the words of Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding new American sanctions , which, according to the Russian leader, will allegedly not affect the Russian economy.

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