Is Steve Witkoff Undermining Ukraine?

A leaked phone call suggests United States presidential envoy Steve Witkoff is contacting his counterparts in Russia on how to best approach President Donald Trump with Russia’s position for a peace deal. The call happened October 14; Bloomberg published a transcript of the call on November 25.

• Witkoff told Russian presidential adviser Yuri Ushakov he had deep respect for Russian President Vladimir Putin and that President Trump believed Russia has always wanted some sort of peace agreement.
• “Zelenskyy is coming to the White House on Friday,” Witkoff said, referring to a meeting in which Ukraine obtaining U.S. cruise missiles might be discussed. “I will go to that because they want me there, but I think, if possible, we have the call with your boss before that Friday meeting.”
• Witkoff also recommended that Putin flatter Trump for his recently brokered peace deal between Israel and Hamas and that Putin express respect for Trump as a peacemaker, saying, “From that, it’s going to be a really good call.”
• Witkoff also recommended Putin be the one to pitch a multipoint peace plan to Trump based on the Gaza ceasefire.

When media asked about the call, the White House didn’t dispute its authenticity.

President Trump won last year’s election partially because he promised to bring peace to various world conflicts. He has chosen Witkoff, a former real estate developer with no prior diplomatic experience, as his point man for conflict mediation. A ceasefire has been implemented in Gaza, but it could collapse any day, and Russia’s carnage in Ukraine is unabated.

The Trumpet has previously reported on how both Witkoff’s negotiating style and President Putin’s intransigence are serious roadblocks to peace.