After meeting with vladimir putin in Moscow on August 6, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff reported to Donald Trump about alleged "significant territorial concessions" by the Kremlin. This information quickly became the basis for declaring "historic progress" and preparing for a summit in Alaska. However, Witkoff misunderstood the russian dictator.
This is reported by Reuters, citing unnamed officials.
Already on August 7, Witkoff, in a conversation with European leaders, stated that russia was ready to give up the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson Regions in exchange for control over Donbas. This surprised the participants in the call, because such a scheme contradicted their assessments of the Kremlin's position.
The very next day, Witkoff sharply changed his version. During discussions with US and European national security advisers, he said that putin had not actually promised to withdraw troops from these regions. It was only about less significant concessions - for example, a refusal to demand formal recognition of the territories seized by "russians".
Reuters was unable to confirm what was said at the meeting, because Witkoff, a businessman with no diplomatic experience, broke protocol and went to Moscow without an official Department of State's notepad. Thus, there is no exact record of putin's words.
The result was confusion and irritation among US allies. Some European officials see the situation as evidence that Moscow may be exploiting Witkoff's inexperience. And within the US administration, he is criticized for introducing contradictory signals into the process, when Washington was trying to take a tougher stance.
Recall, Donald Trump's Special Representative Steve Witkoff announced a meeting with Ukrainian representatives in New York in the near future.
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