In this story, there’s no substitute for hard news.
To learn of US envoy Steve Witkoff and his Russian interactions is to understand the handbrake turn towards Moscow.
If there was much surprise and confusion about the origins of a peace proposal that had Russian fingerprints all over it, there is less now.
The Bloomberg report of Witkoff’s recent involvement distills eye-watering detail of his contact with Yuri Ushakov, Vladimir Putin’s senior adviser on foreign policy.
Among the revelations, it tells of the American advising the Russian on dealing with Trump.
In a phone call last month, Witkoff told Ushakov that Zelenskyy was coming to visit the White House, and suggested Putin speak to Trump beforehand.
Witkoff reportedly said: “The president will give me a lot of space and discretion to get to the deal.”
He spoke of Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan and suggested that “maybe we do the same thing with you”.
Read more:
Who actually wrote Trump’s peace plan?
Steve Witkoff: Real estate mogul turned envoy
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
A good impression of a useful idiot
Subsequently, Witkoff drafted the controversial peace proposal with his Russian counterparts, and the US pressured Ukraine to accept it.
The report paints an unflattering picture of Trump’s envoy doing a good impression of a useful idiot.
There must be serious questions surrounding his engagement with the Russians and serious concerns around consequences that are potentially catastrophic.
Moscow’s threat to Ukraine and to the security infrastructure of Western Europe is strengthened on his handshake.
He’ll press the flesh in Russia once more – Donald Trump is sending Witkoff back to Moscow for further talks aimed at bridging the Ukraine-Russia impasse.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Scandal isn’t what it used to be
Putin has given the Americans little to no encouragement around their reworked plan and Kyiv will shudder at what Trump’s “Mr Fixit” might fix next.
They will despair of his continued involvement at any level and what it says about Trump’s perspective and where his loyalties lie.
In any other job, Witkoff might have been sacked for being irredeemably compromised.
At any other time, this would have been viewed, universally, as a major scandal.
But under Donald Trump, scandal isn’t what it used to be.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
The president and his point man continue to consort with Vladimir Putin.
On the evidence of Steve Witkoff’s interaction, the power dynamic leans less Trump than we might have thought.
