US President Donald Trump has defended his key Ukraine negotiator Steve Witkoff after Bloomberg claimed to have obtained a leaked phone call between Witkoff and a top Kremlin official.
On Tuesday, Bloomberg published what it described as a transcript of Witkoff’s conversation with Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov from October 14. Neither Russia nor the US has confirmed its authenticity.
When asked aboard Air Force One if Witkoff had been “coaching” the Russians on how to deal with him, Trump said he was unaware of the alleged leak. He defended Witkoff’s approach as “standard,” adding that the envoy, a former real estate developer, had to “sell” terms to both Russia and Ukraine.
“That’s what a dealmaker does. You got to say, ‘Look, they want this – you got to convince them with this.’ That’s a very standard form of negotiations,” Trump said. “I would imagine he’s saying the same thing to Ukraine. Each party has to give and take,” he added.
When asked if Witkoff was being “too pro-Russian,” Trump replied, “No.”
“Look, this war can go on for years. And Russia has got a lot more people, a lot more soldiers. If Ukraine can make a deal, it’s a good thing. I think it’s great for both,” the president added.
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