US officials said an interagency working group it had established to formulate strategies aimed at pressuring Russia to accelerate peace talks with Ukraine has been discontinued.
Officials said the effort, launched in the spring, began to fade in May after it became clear to participants that US President Donald Trump was unwilling to adopt a tougher stance toward Moscow.
Although Trump pledged during his campaign to end the war in Ukraine on the first day of his presidency, in recent months he has expressed frustration with the lack of tangible progress and has begun hinting at the possibility of the United States withdrawing from mediation efforts altogether.
The officials added that this trend made the working group's mission appear increasingly pointless.
"The group ultimately lost momentum because the president wasn't there," one said. "Perhaps instead of doing more, he wanted to do less."
Officials indicated that the dismantling of the previously undisclosed working group could increase European allies' concerns about Trump's sometimes conciliatory tone toward Russia and his reluctance to express clear support for Ukraine, ahead of a crucial NATO summit later this month.
The task force was dealt a fatal blow about three weeks ago when most members of the White House National Security Council, including the entire team responsible for the war in Ukraine, were removed as part of a sweeping purge, officials said.
They explained that the working group was established and coordinated by senior National Security Council (NSC) staff, and included representatives from the Department of State, the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Defense (the Pentagon), and the intelligence community. The group included Andrew Peck, the NSC's senior official for Europe and Russia, who was dismissed in May.
It is not clear who specifically ordered the disbandment of the group, but officials believe that such a reduction in the National Security Council staff made its continuation virtually impossible.
Since the group's dissolution, Trump's broader peace efforts—one of his key campaign promises—have faced a difficult phase. Despite some successes, such as a US-brokered ceasefire between India and Pakistan, Trump has made no tangible progress on the Gaza issue, while regional tensions in the Middle East have accelerated with the escalating confrontation between Israel and Iran.
The dissolution of the working group came after some US security agencies suspended their participation in a coordinated effort to counter Russian sabotage and disinformation campaigns in March, Reuters reported at the time.
The White House, Treasury, State, and Defense Departments did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
