President Donald Trump shrugged off leaked transcripts of special envoy Steve Witkoff coaching a senior Kremlin official on how to “sell” a potential Ukraine deal to Washington, insisting the conversations were merely “standard negotiations.”
Speaking aboard Air Force One late Tuesday, the president defended Witkoff’s role amid growing concern that the call showed the White House is drifting toward a settlement heavily tilted toward the Kremlin.
The leaked October call, which Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, appears to show Witkoff telling Russian President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, that any peace deal would likely require Ukraine to give up control of Donetsk, a long-standing red line for Kyiv.
Asked about the audio, Trump said: “I haven’t heard it, no, but that’s a standard thing because he’s got to sell this to Ukraine. He’s got to sell Ukraine to Russia. That’s what he’s – that’s what a dealmaker does. You got to say, look, they want this, you’ve got to convince them of this. You know, that’s a very standard form of negotiation.”
He continued: “I haven’t heard it, but I heard it was standard negotiation. And I would imagine he’s saying the same thing to Ukraine because each party has to give and take.”
Trump last week set a November 27 deadline for Kyiv to accept a U.S.-backed peace plan initially described by officials as highly favorable to Russia.
Bloomberg reported that Witkoff coached Ushakov on how to frame a proposal to Trump, suggesting Moscow congratulate him and praise him as “a man of peace.”
According to the transcript, Witkoff also said: “I know what it’s going to take to get a peace deal done: Donetsk and maybe a land swap somewhere.”
Ushakov replied: “OK my friend… I agree with you that he will congratulate, he will say that Mr. Trump is a real peace man and so and so.”
Ushakov did not dispute the transcripts when asked by Russian state television, instead hinting they were leaked to disrupt ongoing talks.
Republican critics in Washington were less forgiving, with Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) warning that the “secret meetings” were a “major problem.”
Watch above via MS NOW.
