U.S. Envoy Steve Witkoff Faces Frustration from Kyiv and Moscow Over Failed Trump-Putin Summit and Miscommunication
U.S. President Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is reportedly facing increasing frustration from both Kyiv and Moscow regarding his role in the U.S.-mediated peace process. Officials in Moscow believe Witkoff was partly responsible for the failure of last year’s summit between President Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska. A week before the summit, Witkoff met with Putin without a stenographer, relying on a Kremlin translator. He subsequently informed President Trump that Putin was ready to discuss a territorial arrangement where Ukraine would withdraw from parts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, and Russia would pull back from parts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts. However, sources indicate Putin had not offered such concessions, and Witkoff misunderstood his '3+2' position. Furthermore, Witkoff allegedly failed to convey Putin’s desire to formally document understandings reached in Alaska, leading to the summit concluding without a written framework for further negotiations. Ukrainian officials als...
