Yuri Kobzar14:39, 20.12.25

The Kremlin appreciated Steve Witkoff’s shocking level of incompetence and did everything possible to make him Trump’s chief negotiator.

New York real estate developer Steve Witkoff has become the current US president’s chief international negotiator, despite his complete incompetence in geopolitics. And while everyone knows that the two are close friends, it was not Donald Trump but Vladimir Putin who helped Witkoff’s political career take off , The Wall Street Journal reports .

The publication notes that after returning to the White House, Trump appointed his friend Steve as a special envoy to the Middle East, since he had business experience in Saudi Arabia. And Keith Kellogg was supposed to deal with the issues of the Russian-Ukrainian war. However, the Kremlin intervened, and very quickly it was Witkoff who began to deal with contacts with Russia, while Kellogg was relegated to the background.

According to the WSJ, since the end of World War II, all contacts between Washington and Moscow have always been carefully vetted, managed by intelligence services that knew the opponent thoroughly. The experienced diplomats involved in the contacts worked according to strict protocols. But with the advent of Trump, this entire system has collapsed.

Today, the US has no ambassador in Moscow, no assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs. Negotiations with Russia are being led by businessman Witkoff, who has rejected numerous CIA offers to hold a briefing on Russia.

The U.S. State Department has assigned a small team of staff to assist Witkoff, but they have difficulty even receiving reports of Witkoff’s foreign meetings. In less than a year, he has visited Russia six times, while he has never been to Ukraine.

Trump boasted this week that Witkoff “knew nothing” about Russia when he took the job, but is succeeding because “people love Steve.”

How Putin made Witkoff Trump’s chief negotiator

WSJ sources claim that Putin studied psychological portraits of officials from Trump’s entourage and quickly concluded that Keith Kellogg was not suitable for Russia as an American negotiator because of his clearly pro-Ukrainian position. But Witkoff turned out to be a good candidate for the role of US representative in negotiations with Russia.

Making Witkoff a US envoy was not difficult for Putin. Trump makes no secret of his skepticism about state institutions and highly values ​​the personal loyalty of a longtime friend like Witkoff.

The Kremlin conducted negotiations to transfer Witkoff to the Russian-Ukrainian track through Saudi Arabia, using one of Putin’s aides, Kirill Dmitriev, who had good connections with both the Saudis and the Americans.

The Russians were successful in this. According to the WSJ, at one point the Saudi prince himself suggested that Witkoff get involved in the war in Ukraine. The Russians themselves promised to release American teacher Mark Vogel, who is in a Russian prison.

For decades, American officials have been given a set of instructions known as the “Moscow Rules” before traveling to Russia, explaining how to avoid being compromised and recruited by Russian intelligence agencies. But Witkoff refused all the instructions, even the State Department’s in-house translator.

During their first meeting in the Kremlin, Putin spent three hours teaching Witkoff his version of Russian history, starting with Kievan Rus. This was how Putin assessed Witkoff’s willingness to accept the Russian perspective, according to sources.

The fact that he was rewarded for listening to the lecture with Mark Vogel, who had spent 4 years in a Russian prison, convinced Witkoff of Russia’s “leniency.” Trump himself was very happy about the success in releasing the American.

Since then, Witkoff has met with Putin five more times, telling him after each meeting how Russia wants peace.

Witkoff and Russia: latest news

As UNIAN reported, US President’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, who visited Moscow in early December for talks with Vladimir Putin, tasted red caviar in one of the restaurants and was so impressed that he was given a whole box of this delicacy as a gift for Donald Trump.

However, such a gift may violate American law: The US Constitution and laws prohibit federal officials, including the president, from accepting gifts from foreign countries without the consent of Congress if their value exceeds a minimum threshold (for 2023-2025 – $ 480). The volume of the box is not specified, but if it exceeds approximately 5 kg (at Russian prices about $ 480, in the US – much more expensive), Trump and Utkoff are required to either obtain Congressional permission or redeem the gift, otherwise it may qualify as a bribe.

(C)UNIAN 2025