Image source, Getty Images
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- author, Hafsa Khalil
- Author title, BBC News
US President Donald Trump was forced to defend his special envoy to Russia, Steve Witkoff, after a recording was leaked showing Witkoff advising a Russian official on how to gain the US president’s trust.
Trump told reporters on Wednesday that he did not hear the audio recording, but that Witkoff was doing “what a negotiator does” to “sell” the peace plan to both Russia and Ukraine.
The leaked invitation came to light days after a draft 28-point peace plan presented by the United States that largely reflects Russian efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
Witkov has visited Moscow several times this year and will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin again next week.
He has never visited the Ukrainian capital as a special envoy, despite the presence of other US officials in Kiev, such as US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll this week.
Trump confirms that the goal is to hold new talks with the Ukrainians.
Diplomatic talks continued after Ukrainian and European leaders criticized the initial draft of the plan for being too favorable to Russia. Among the proposals it included was ceding the Ukrainian territories it controls to Russia.
The plan has since been amended to better reflect Ukraine’s interests and the views of European allies. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was ready to meet with Trump to discuss the outstanding “sensitive points.”
Image source, Getty Images
What does the registry say?
In the leaked audio recording, which the news site published as a text version BloombergWitkov appears to have been advising Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign policy adviser, on how to win Trump’s favor.
BBC News was unable to independently verify the call, which allegedly took place on October 14, but when speaking about it, Trump said it was a “very common form of negotiation.”
During the conversation, the two men allegedly talked about ending the war, and Ushakov asked if it would be beneficial for his bosses, Putin and Trump, to talk.
“My manager is willing to do it,” Witkoff reportedly said, before suggesting how to make the call.
“I just reiterate that you congratulate President (Trump) on this accomplishment… and that you respect that he is a man of peace and that you are very happy to see him moving forward,” Witkoff apparently said. “I think from there it will be a very good call.”
Witkoff adds, according to the text: “I told the president that you, or the Russian Federation, always wanted to reach a peace agreement. This is my opinion.” He continues: “The problem is that we have two countries that are finding it difficult to reach an agreement.”
He adds: “I’m thinking that maybe we should present a 20-point peace proposal, as we did in Gaza.”
The call ends with Witkov informing Ushakov of Zelensky’s impending visit to the White House, and that “if possible,” Trump and Putin should talk before that meeting.
What followed was a two-and-a-half-hour phone call between the presidents of the United States and Russia, which was made public as Zelensky headed to Washington last month.
Image source, Getty Images
Change attitudes
Before the call between Trump and Putin, the US President seemed to be running out of patience with his Russian counterpart, and indicated that he might supply Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk missiles.
When Zelensky went to the White House last month, the mood seemed to have changed. Trump said that delivering Tomahawk missiles to Kiev could exacerbate the conflict, and that he believes Putin “wants to end the war.”
When asked about the leak of the call, Yuri Ushakov told Russian state media that it had been published “most likely to obstruct” the talks and that it was “unlikely” to have been published to improve relations.
He also confirmed that Vitkov will visit Moscow next week, according to a “prior agreement.”
It is unclear who was behind the leak, however Bloomberg He also translated another call between Ushakov and Putin’s envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who spent several days with Witkov in Miami in late October, weeks before the draft of the 28-point plan appeared.
According to this text, Dmitriev told his Russian colleague: “We will simply draft this document from our position and I will convey it unofficially, making it clear that everything is unofficial. And let them do their job.”
He seems angry about the report BloombergDmitriev complained of a “malicious, well-financed and organized media machine, created to spread false narratives, smear opponents and confuse people.”
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