U.S. President Donald Trump commented on a telephone conversation published by Bloomberg between American special envoy Steve Witkoff and the aide to the Russian dictator, Yuri Ushakov. The U.S. president called it standard practice while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One.
"It's standard practice, you know, because he has to sell it to Ukraine. He has to sell Ukraine to Russia. That's what a dealmaker does"
– Trump said.
The American president suggested that Witkoff says the same thing to both sides, since each of them has to make their contribution.
Details of the conversation
According to Bloomberg, Witkoff and Ushakov spoke in October for more than five minutes. The special envoy gave advice to the Russian representative on communicating with Trump. In particular, the conversation concerned arranging a phone call between the U.S. president and Putin before Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to the White House.
"And one more thing: Zelensky is coming to the White House on Friday... I'm going to go to that meeting, because they want me to be there, but I think that if possible, we'll talk to your boss before that meeting on Friday"
– Witkoff said during the call.
He also recommended that Putin congratulate Trump on achieving a peace agreement regarding Gaza, express support for Russia, and show respect to the American leader as a peacemaker.
Context
Earlier, Trump said the parties were close to concluding a peace agreement regarding the war in Ukraine. On November 25 he instructed Witkoff to meet with Putin, and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll to meet with the Ukrainian side. The initial 28-point peace plan was refined taking into account the proposals of both sides.
