Trump secretly tasked another envoy, Witkoff, with working on peace in Ukraine – NYT
Steven Witkoff, appointed by US President Donald Trump as Middle East envoy, has also been instructed to help establish peace in Ukraine.
The New York Times writes about this, citing numerous sources, Censor.NET reports.
The publication notes that Trump has instructed Witkoff to "play a role" in the process of resolving Russia's war against Ukraine.
According to the sources, a few weeks ago, the head of the White House secretly expanded the envoy's powers beyond the Middle East "in order to open a negotiation channel with the Russians."
"Trump trusts Witkoff, with whom he has been friends since the 1980s, and believes he has the right negotiating skills to help end the war in Ukraine," the NYT writes.
The article says that Witkoff has already had direct talks with unnamed "close associates" of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and has also discussed Ukraine with contacts in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
As a reminder, on February 11, Donald Trump's representative, Steven Witkoff, flew to Moscow to pick up American Mark Vogel. Earlier on Tuesday, the media drew attention to the fact that a Gulfstream business jet owned by Witkoff and frequently used by Trump himself arrived in Moscow.
Earlier it was reported that on February 3, US President Donald Trump signed an official decree appointing retired Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg as special envoy for Ukraine and Russia.
