By Simon CrerarShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberPresident Donald Trump has dismissed concerns about special envoy Steve Witkoff advising Russian officials on how to pitch a Ukraine peace plan, telling reporters aboard Air Force One that the conversations sounded like “standard negotiation.”
In his first direct response to a Bloomberg report that Witkoff privately coached senior Kremlin advisers on appealing to Trump, the president said the dealmaker was doing what was required to move both sides toward agreement.
Why It Matters
Witkoff, an influential Trump associate and property developer whose business career has been built on complex, high-stakes negotiations, has played a central role in shaping the administration’s Ukraine peace proposal.
Reports he discussed draft terms with Kremlin intermediaries before Ukrainian officials were briefed have triggered questions among U.S. allies and Kyiv, who were already wary of back-channel diplomacy that appeared to lean toward Russian interests.Bloomberg reported that Witkoff was recorded coaching senior Putin advisers on how to frame a proposal to Trump, and urging them to emphasize their willingness to make a deal. In one conversation reviewed by the outlet, Witkoff described having drafted a 20-point peace plan and suggested Russia echo that language in a future call with Trump.
What To Know
The White House said earlier Tuesday that the envoy speaks with both Moscow and Kyiv “nearly every day” to advance negotiations, insisting the outreach is part of his mandate.
Asked on Air Force One whether he feared Witkoff was “too pro-Russian,” Trump rejected the idea outright. “No,” he said. “This war could go on for years, and Russia’s got a lot more people and a lot more soldiers. So I think if Ukraine can make a deal, it’s a good thing.”
The president described Witkoff’s conversations as routine for someone trying to close a complex agreement: “He’s got to sell Ukraine to Russia. That’s what a dealmaker does. You’ve got to say, 'Look, they want this, you’ve got to convince them of this.' You know, that’s a very standard form of negotiation. I haven’t heard it, but I heard it was standard negotiation. And I would imagine he’s saying the same thing to Ukraine, because each party has to give and take.”
In October Witkoff played a behind-the-scenes but consequential role in shaping the ceasefire that halted fighting between Israel and Hamas, according to officials familiar with the negotiations.
...As Trump’s special envoy, Witkoff helped broker the framework that ultimately led both sides to accept a pause in hostilities, working closely with regional intermediaries and U.S. diplomats to translate Trump’s demands into terms each party could live with. Trump thanked him profusely in his post-Gaza ceasefire address to Israel’s parliament, the Knesset.
What People Are Saying
White House spokesman Steven Cheung, to Newsweek in a statement: “This story proves one thing: Special Envoy Witkoff talks to officials in both Russia and Ukraine nearly every day to achieve peace, which is exactly what President Trump appointed him to do.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in a post to social media: "If there are negotiations, if there is constructive dialogue, if we are truly ending the war, then there should be no missiles, no massive strikes on Ukraine, on our people. And this can really be achieved by those who are truly strong in the world, and much depends on America. Russia started the war - Russia must end the war, and we are ensuring the necessary circumstances through dialogue with our partners."
What Happens Next
Trump said his Ukraine plan has now been “fine-tuned,” and that he is dispatching Witkoff to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll to speak with Ukrainian officials. He added that he hopes to meet with both sides personally, but only when a final agreement is close.
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