Topline Steve Witkoff, the Trump administration’s special envoy for peace missions, advised his Russian aide to flatter President Donald Trump before an October phone call between the U.S. president and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Bloomberg reported, revealing more details on how a contentious plan was put together. Witkoff advised Ushakov to tell Putin to congratulate Trump on finalizing a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, adding that he should say “you respect that he is a man of peace and you’re just, you’re really glad to have seen it happen.” “I agree with you that he will congratulate, he will say that Mr. Trump is a real peace man and so and so,” Ushakov said. And I would imagine he’s saying the same thing to Ukraine, because each party has to give and take.” Kremlin officials, meanwhile, insisted the leaked phone call was an attempt to interfere with the ongoing negotiations.
Author: Zachary Folk, Forbes Staff, Zachary Folk, Forbes Staff https://www.forbes.com/sites/zacharyfolk/
Published at: 2025-11-25 22:45:36
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