... U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff advised Russian officials on how to pitch a Ukraine peace deal to President Donald Trump, according to an audio recording reported by Bloomberg.
Witkoff, a property developer and longtime Trump associate, played a pivotal role in shaping the White House's current Ukraine peace proposal, as well as the ceasefire deal between Israel and Gaza.
Late in October, Witkoff met with Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev, an economic adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin, in Florida to discuss and begin drafting an agreement that would prioritize Russian interests.
In a conversation reviewed by Bloomberg, Witkoff is heard telling Yuri Ushakov, Putin's most senior foreign-policy adviser, "We put a 20-point Trump plan together that was 20 points for peace, and I'm thinking maybe we do the same thing with you."
In another conversation on October 29, Dmitriev told Ushakov that he could "talk later with Steve" about a paper.
The White House responded to the report, with communications director Steven Cheung telling Newsweek in a statement: "This story proves one thing: Special Envoy Witkoff talks to officials in both Russia and Ukraine nearly every day to achieve peace, which is exactly what President Trump appointed him to do."
Dmitriev denied the Bloomberg report, labeling it as fake, according to a report from the Russian state RIA Novosti news agency. ...
