The initiates of the Trump administration are increasingly concerned about solo meetings of the special envoy Steve Witkoff with Russian president Vladimir Putin, the New York Post reported on Wednesday, citing anonymous sources familiar with the issue.
Witkoff, a former lawyer and real estate investor known as a “fierce negotiator”, would have met Putin four times since February without experienced diplomatic advisers or approved interpreters, breaking with the longtime American diplomatic protocol.
Last Friday, during their last meeting at Kremlin, Putin was joined by senior aid Yury Ushakov and the head of the Russian direct investment fund Kirill Dmitriyev. In a video of the Kremlin of this meeting, Witkoff can be heard Asking if the only person sitting on the side of the table for discussions was “of the embassy”.
Initially appointed special envoy of the Middle East after Trump took office in January, Witkoff has since played an extended role of ambassador-at-garde, responsible for negotiating the end of the war in Ukraine.
His direct and unleanished diplomacy aroused criticism from the whole political spectrum. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and certain Russian state media accused or congratulated Witkoff for echoing the Kremlin messaging.
Others have underlined Witkoff’s ignorance with the identities and history of the performers present during his meetings with Putin.
“Looking nice, but an clumsy idiot … he shouldn’t do it alone,” said Nyp a Trump administration official.
The army’s retirement general, Keith Kellogg, who was appointed special envoy for the Russian-Ukraine War, was reassured as “special envoy for Ukraine” only, leaving the two main American negotiators with a limited overview of the other’s discussions, tabloid reported.
“If Trump had finally seriously the mediation of the end of the war in Ukraine, he would name someone to speak to both parties – shuttle diplomacy – and preferably someone having some experience in diplomacy”, former The American ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul wrote on X. “Witkoff acts like a factor for Putin. He does not negotiate anything.”
After Witkoff’s last visit to Moscow and the state warnings that the United States could withdraw from its mediation role in peace talks, Putin offered a 72-hour ceasefire to coincide with the May 9 Russia vacation.
Ukraine and the White House rejected the idea, urging the Kremlin to accept a 30-day cease-fire agreement that US officials proposed for the first time after discussions in March. Putin rejected this proposal.
