The US president has denied that his envoy has been “too pro-Russian”
US President Donald Trump has defended his key Ukraine negotiator Steve Witkoff after Bloomberg claimed to have obtained a leaked phone call between Witkoff and a top Kremlin official.
On Tuesday, Bloomberg published what it described as a transcript of Witkoff’s conversation with Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov from October 14. Neither Russia nor the US has confirmed its authenticity.
When asked aboard Air Force One if Witkoff had been “coaching” the Russians on how to deal with him, Trump said he was unaware of the alleged leak. He defended Witkoff’s approach as “standard,” adding that the envoy, a former real estate developer, had to “sell” terms to both Russia and Ukraine.
“That’s what a dealmaker does. You got to say, ‘Look, they want this – you got to convince them with this.’ That’s a very standard form of negotiations,” Trump said. “I would imagine he’s saying the same thing to Ukraine. Each party has to give and take,” he added.
When asked if Witkoff was being “too pro-Russian,” Trump replied, “No.”
“Look, this war can go on for years. And Russia has got a lot more people, a lot more soldiers. If Ukraine can make a deal, it’s a good thing. I think it’s great for both,” the president added.
Also on Tuesday, Bloomberg published what it claimed was a transcript of a phone call between Ushakov and Russia’s investment envoy and Ukraine negotiator, Kirill Dmitriev. Dmitriev has said that the transcript is false. Russian officials have previously accused Western media of spreading disinformation in an effort to undermine Trump’s mediation efforts.
US and Ukrainian negotiators met in Geneva over the weekend, after which Trump said that his original 28-point peace plan had been “fine-tuned” with additional input from both Russia and Ukraine.
Trump said on Tuesday that he had directed Witkoff to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, while US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll would remain in contact with Ukrainian officials.
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