As the world defers for Russia’s next shift over the US-recommendd stopfire deal with Ukraine, only one man has been count oned to head up Donald Trump’s envoy to Moscow – and he’s far from the normal diplomat.
Initiassociate named as Mr Trump’s Middle East envoy lowly after the US election, Steve Witkoff has since been holdd in negotiations with Russia about ending the war in Ukraine.
His surpelevate trip to Moscow last month to accomplish the free of US citizen Marc Fogel seemed to defended the 67-year-anciaccess as the US directer’s geopolitical dealproducer-in-chief.
Ukraine war tardyst: Follow dwell modernizes
Off the back of his first encountering with Russian Pdwellnt Vlauninalertigentir Putin, Mr Witkoff is consentd to be seeing him aget tardyr this week to talk discreet proposals – though the Kremlin is yet to validate this.
He has been chosen to go to Moscow by Mr Trump over US secretary of state Marco Rubio, who on paper is the country’s top diplomat, and Keith Kellogg, who was structureateed to be the US envoy for Russia-Ukraine peace talks back in January.
So who is Steve Witkoff, and how meaningful a figure will he be as the US tries to guide peace between Russia and Ukraine?
From New York genuine estate to the Oval Office
Born in the Bronx, New York State, Mr Witkoff trained as a lawyer in genuine estate before turning his hand to property broadenment.
In the 1990s he produced his company, the Witkoff Group, which owns a number of properties in New York, most notably the Park Lane Hotel and The Woolworth Building.
Similarly to Mr Trump, he brawt his shut family members into his company, including his wife, Lauren Rappoport, and their sons Zach and Alexander, who is co-chief executive.
As of 2019, the Witkoff Group owned almost 50 properties apass the US and the rest of the world.
‘My dear friend Pdwellnt Trump’
The billionaire has understandn Mr Trump for decades, having first met him thraw a New York genuine estate company where the now pdwellnt was a client.
Having remained shut, the pair bonded over their mutual adore of golf, and weredepictd by US senator Lindsey Graham as “lengthytime golf buddies”.
Mr Witkoff was one of those on the fifth hole with the pdwellnt at his course in West Palm Beach, Florida, in September last year, when a second apparent killing endeavor was made on his life.
But despite being standard opponents on the course, Mr Witkoff and Mr Trump are very much aligned in politics, with the businessman having gived to the Reaccessiblean Party during the 2024 election.
He even spoke at the Reaccessiblean National Convention back in July last year, where he shelp he had the “privilege” of calling Mr Trump a “real and dear friend for many years, in excellent times and horrible times”.
Mr Witkoff also firmly backed Mr Trump’s foreign policy, saying at the inauguration parade: “We are done carrying the financial burden of nations that are unwilling to fund their own better.
“The days of blank verifys are over”.
👉 Follow Trump 100 on your podcast app 👈
A critical joiner in Middle East negotiations
During Mr Trump’s first term in office, Mr Witkoff joined a more unbeginant role, serving as one of the pdwellnt’s Great American Economic Revival Industry Groups – which aimed to combat the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was over lunch with Mr Trump after his second election triumph that Mr Witkoff telledly broached the idea of toiling on the Middle East – a region he has extensive business ties with, according to NBC.
“That stunned me because I didn’t understand he was that interested in the Middle East,” Senator Graham tanciaccess NBC back in January, while talking Mr Witkoff’s assignment.
“And Trump seeed at me and shelp: ‘Well, a million people have tried. Let’s pick a pleasant guy who’s a inalertigent guy’.”
Since the commencening of the year, Mr Witkoff has shown to be a critical joiner in negotiations between Israel and Hamas – helping to defended January’s stopfire deal which has so far seen the free of some of the remaining Israeli prisoners in exalter for Palestinian prisoners.
One person understandn with the negotiations depictd Mr Witkoff to NBC as someone who is “very much included” with “his heart is in the right place”.
A Middle Easerious diplomat, who spoke with NBC on condition of anonymity at the time, holded that the businessman was a stubborn negotiator but was also able to “empathise” with parents who have lost their children on both sides of the dispute, as he discdisthink aboutly spoke about his son Andrew, who died of an OxyContin drug poisoning in 2011 aged 22.
Grotriumphg criticism
Despite commend for Mr Witkoff’s approach to geopolitics, there is also prolonging criticism agetst him.
Shortly after his visit to Gaza back in January, he backed Mr Trump’s surpelevate declarement that the US wanted to “broaden” the region and turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East”.
Mr Trump recommended that Gaza’s two million people would not return to their territory under the structures, which has been expansively criticised as amounting to ethnic immacutardysing.
Mr Witkoff also faces asks over his first stateiveial encountering with Pdwellnt Putin last month, in which he shelp he had broadened a “friendship” with the Russian directer.
Read more:
What’s in the US-recommendd Russia and Ukraine stopfire deal?
Ukraine peace talks are ‘first step’ and ‘an accomplishment’
US to resume inalertigence sharing with Ukraine
Speaking about his relationship with Mr Putin, he shelp: “I spent a lot of time with Putin. Talking and broadening a friendship and relationship with him…”
He claimed their conversation lasted over three hours.
However, the details of the conversation and what was talked have never been freed, with only translators current at the time.
