CNN host Jake Tapper exposed President Trump’s negotiation strategy in the war in Ukraine as a top foreign affairs envoy struggled to point out one concession Russia would make in a peace deal.
In an interview on State of the Union on Sunday, Tapper grilled Steve Witkoff, the Middle East envoy who claimed that he had developed a “friendship” with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week after meeting in Moscow, on the different demands Trump had made on Ukraine’s president versus those made on Russia.
“President Trump has been putting a lot of pressure on Ukrainian President Zelensky, as you just noted, and laying out the concessions Ukraine will have to make to end the war,” Tapper pointed out. “What concessions will Russia have?”
But Witkoff answered in vague terms.
“I think in any peace deal, each side is going to make concessions, whether it’s territorial concessions, whether it’s economic concessions,” he said.
“I think there’s a whole array of things that happen in a deal, and you’ll see concessions from both sides.”
He also said Trump’s strengths lied mainly in his personable skills rather than in getting stuck debating complex details.
“He brings people together. He gets them to understand that the pathway to peace is concessions and consensus building. And I think you’re going to see a very successful result here.”
Witkoff claimed earlier in the interview that the U.S. had reached a deal with Ukraine over its raw earth minerals that would be signed in the next few days.
“I expect to see a deal signed this week,” he told CNN. “You saw President Zelensky waver in his commitment towards that a week ago. President [Trump] sent a message to him and he’s not wavering anymore.”
The Trump envoy had also said the president was stunned to find out that the U.S were sending the “majority share of aid” to Ukraine during the nearly three years of war.
The president’s revelation was apparently in spite of the media widely covering the aid spent during the Biden administration. The U.S also only outspent Europe in military aid rather than total aid, which can also include providing medical or emergency supplies.
There was an awkward moment when CNN showed Witkoff a clip from Russian state TV showing a commentator claiming Trump’s position aligned with Putin’s.
Witkoff, however, said both countries had to work together to achieve peace.
“I think you’ve got to have these relationships. You’ve got to have communication. That’s the only way you get deals done.”
