'It worked better being there alone': US Special Envoy explains his approach to dialogue with Putin
Photo: US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian leader Vladimir Putin (Getty Images)
Steve Witkoff, US Special Envoy, defended holding a private meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, emphasizing the importance of dialogue in resolving conflict, Breitbart News reports.
Witkoff, a Special Envoy to the Middle East and a key US negotiator on various international issues, gave an exclusive interview to Breitbart News this week.
It turns out Witkoff faced some criticism for meeting with figures like Putin alone. Notably, he met with Putin without any aides or even translators present.
However, Witkoff rejected the criticism, stating that the alternative would be what former US President Joe Biden did during his administration - not communicating with the Russian leader at all.
According to Witkoff, Trump tasked him with engaging in dialogue to try to find a better solution.
"I think the President wants things done a different way. He wants a more proactive approach. He wants people getting out in the field. My meetings with Vladimir Putin - outsiders were not invited. Should I have said to Vladimir Putin: 'I don’t want to open up a dialogue with you, I don’t want to have a relationship with you'?" he said.
He recalled that Biden had not spoken to Putin for three and a half years.
"At the direction of the president, I had the opportunity to make contact with President Putin. He is the central protagonist in that conflict. If we’re not talking to him, how do we think we’re ever going to effect a resolution? It’s not even possible," the US Special Envoy stated.
At the same time, he said that even the idea that the US should not talk to Putin is absurd. He also noted that he did not want to make the talks dependent on whether he could bring a translator or other people with him.
"I did not need anybody there. It actually worked better being there alone and then downloading our leadership, our foreign policy team, afterwards," Witkoff added.
Witkoff’s role in achieving peace in Ukraine
Steve Witkoff represents the United States in negotiations aimed at ending the war in Ukraine and maintains direct communication with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
Last month, the US Special Envoy visited Moscow, where he met with the Russian envoy for investment, Kirill Dmitriev.
On May 8, former US President Donald Trump praised the work of the US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff regarding the war in Ukraine.
