The US President Donald Trump secretly expanded the authority of his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to end the war in Ukraine a few weeks ago in order to open "negotiation channels" with Russia.
NYT writes about this, citing sources.
All this is supposedly because, due to their friendship since the 1980s, Trump trusts Witkoff and believes he has the right negotiating skills to help end the war in Ukraine.
NYT sources say that Witkoff has already had direct talks with unnamed close Putin allies and discussed Ukraine with contacts in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Keith Kellogg is the US President Donald Trumpʼs official special envoy for the Russia-Ukraine war.
Trumpʼs plans for war in Ukraine
During the election campaign, Trump claimed that he could end the war in Ukraine “in one day”. However, after being elected president, his narratives changed. The American newspaper The Wall Street Journal wrote that he instructed special envoy Keith Kellogg to end the war in 100 days.
Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly stressed that the state will defend its integrity and will not cede its territories to Russia. In September 2024, Zelensky met with Donald Trump and presented him with a victory plan. According to the Ukrainian leader, the meeting was very meaningful.
New US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that under Donald Trumpʼs presidency, ending the Russian-Ukrainian war will be the official policy of the United States. He said that he could not give a specific date for the end of the war between Russia and Ukraine, but both sides will have to make some concessions because they will not be able to achieve their maximum goals.
And Trump himself, two days after his inauguration, called on Putin to end the war — otherwise he would impose large taxes and sanctions.
Zelensky said he likes Trumpʼs tactics for ending hostilities. However, he stressed that Trump and Putinʼs talks about a war without Ukraine are dangerous for everyone.
On February 9, Trump said in an interview with the New York Post that he has a specific plan to end the war and wants to make a $500 billion deal with Volodymyr Zelensky for access to rare earth minerals and gas in Ukraine in exchange for security guarantees in a potential peace deal.
On February 10, the US President Donald Trump said the United States was making progress in talks to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, but declined to provide details about any contacts with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Trump said the United States was in contact with Russia and Ukraine and was “talking to both sides”.
On February 11, the American president said that Ukraine had “essentially agreed” to transfer half a trillion dollars in rare earth metals to Washington as payment for American military aid. Before that, Volodymyr Zelensky said that Kyiv was open to partnership on this issue.
- Bloomberg recently reported that the Trump administration would present a plan to end Russiaʼs war against Ukraine on February 14-16 at the Munich Security Conference in Germany. However, Kellogg denied this.
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