Trump defends Witkoff after leak appears to show envoy coaching Russia

[Eugene]

Earlier DU thread: Witkoff Advised Russia on How to Pitch Ukraine Plan to Trump

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Source: BBC

Trump defends Witkoff after leak appears to show envoy coaching Russia

26 November 2025

Hafsa Khalil

US President Donald Trump has defended special envoy Steve Witkoff as doing the "standard thing" after a leaked recording appeared to show him advising a Russian official on how to appeal to the president.

Trump told reporters on Wednesday he had not heard the audio, but that Witkoff was doing "what a dealmaker does" to "sell" the peace plan to both Russia and Ukraine.

The leaked call from last month emerged days after a 28-point draft peace plan presented by the US largely reflected Russian positions on its full-scale war in Ukraine.

Witkoff has visited Moscow several times this year and will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin again next week.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3r7xr94ln8o

[Nictuku]

1. Makes One Wonder....

.... How much $$ did Putin give to Witkoff to push this plan (that Russia wouldn't even accept because Putin doesn't want to end the war). This entire episode for the latest 'peace deal' is nothing more than Russia's Wish List. It has even more items that Russia would want than the previous so-called one-sided 'deals'. They added in at least 2 new items: Russia will not have to pay Reparations for Rebuilding Ukraine after the war, and Russia will not be held responsible for nearly 200,000 Actual War Crimes that have been committed by Russia.

https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/russia-racks-up-nearly-200-000-war-crimes-1762392120.html

I feel like I am on the wrong planet than the one I grew up on.