President Donald Trump’s chief interlocutor with the Russian government last month advised a senior aide to Vladimir Putin on how the Russian leader should go about pitching the U.S. president on a peace plan aimed at bringing an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine, according to a transcript of the call published by Bloomberg News on Tuesday.
Trump envoy Steve Witkoff, according to a transcript of the Oct. 14 call published by the news service, advised Putin’s foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov that Putin should call Trump to congratulate him for the Gaza peace deal, say Russia had supported it and that he respects the president as a man of peace.
“From that, it’s going to be a really good call,” Witkoff said, according to the transcript.
When asked by Russian state media to comment on the report, Ushakov did not question the recordings’ authenticity but said that they had not been leaked by Moscow. The White House did not dispute the veracity of the transcript, and Trump described Witkoff’s reported approach to the Russians in the call as “standard” negotiating procedure.
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But Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, insisted that Kremlin officials haven’t officially received the initial U.S. peace proposal, although they have acknowledged that they have seen a copy obtained through back channels. Representatives of the United States, Russia and Ukraine held talks earlier this week in the United Arab Emirates.
“Contact is ongoing, including via telephone, but no one has yet sat down at a roundtable and discussed this point by point. That hasn’t happened,” Ushakov told Russian state media.
Report: Witkoff coached Putin’s aide on pitching Trump
Trump’s chief interlocutor with the Russian government last month advised a senior aide to Vladimir Putin on how the Russian leader should go about pitching the U.S. president on a Ukraine peace plan.
That’s according to a transcript of the Oct. 14 call published Tuesday by Bloomberg News. The news agency said it reviewed a recording of the call.
It said Trump envoy Steve Witkoff advised Putin’s foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov that Putin should call the U.S. leader to congratulate him and praise Trump for the Gaza peace deal. Trump described Witkoff’s approach as “standard” in negotiations.
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By The Associated Press
