Name: How will the Witkoff leak affect peace negotiations? | DW News
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US President Donald Trump has announced that he is sending his envoy, Steve Witkoff, to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin next week in Moscow.

Basic passive voice

They will discuss Trump's peace plan for Ukraine, which is widely seen as echoing Russian demands.

Meanwhile, Trump has defended Witkoff after a leaked phone call between the envoy and senior Russian foreign policy adviser was published by Bloomberg News.

In the transcript of the October call, Witkoff privately coached the Yuri Shaftkoff on how to pitch a peace plan to Trump.

Witkoff also said peace in Ukraine would require Russia gaining control of the Donetsk region.

Let's bring in Russia affairs analyst Konstantin Eggert for more.

So, Konstantin, what do you think is behind the leak?

Well, I do think that whoever leaked this, these conversations is definitely someone who is not a friend of Steve Wicket, so someone who thinks that his, his actions are not serving the Ukrainian and the American interests.

I mean, I think that it could have been people on the, on the, on the American side, it could have been people on the Ukrainian side.

I do not think that it is the Russian security agencies that.

But of course, you can invent five more options, five more versions of that, and

What has been the reaction to Wycoff's statements?

I mean, is he being seen to be on Russia's side?

Yes, I think mostly what you see, of course, we're not talking about the Russian state media, which is under full control of the Kremlin, but

independent Russian media, Western media, they all are actually shocked by the fact that Wyckoff, if we believe these conversations, of course, serves as an advisor to Yuri Ushakov, Vladimir Putin's foreign policy advisor, on how to better deal with the American administration, how to flatter Donald Trump, for example.

I mean, in my career as a journalist since 1990, I don't think I've seen anything like that, at least when we talk about Western diplomacy.

Now Trump is sending Witkoff to Russia again.

I do think that by now, much more was achieved during the meetings in Abu Dhabi.

And I do think that before tomorrow, when President Zelensky is supposed to meet Donald Trump and initial this draft peace plan, or whatever you call it, there is not much that Wykoff can really achieve, but

maybe some technicalities, that is a possibility still.

I do think that there are also other people that have people that are very heavily involved in that.

And he's definitely not the only One who's calling shot after a video conference with the so called coalition of the willing.

Those are the countries that are supporting Ukraine in its defense.

The president, Volodymyr Zelensky, said that some sensitive points of the peace plan still need to be clarified.

Just walk us through what must be going on right now on the part of the Ukrainians amid all of this.

This morning I spoke to my high opposite adviser to the office of Volodymyr Zelensky, together with my colleagues from the Russian service of Deutsche Welle.

And at least as Podolak puts it, one of the main issues that will be taken, if you wish, out of the framework of this document, this draft peace plan for a peace treaty, is actually issues connected to security guarantees.

They are to be debated later because it is very clear that you Ukraine will never settle for something like the Budapest memorandum of 1994.

I do think that this is something that will be hotly debated.

Podolyak said that from Kyiv's point of view, for example, Ukraine's accession to the EU is something that is essentially going to happen.

But it's not something that's at least controversial from the point of view of Ukraine, just as the whole of the economic reconstruction rebuilding of Ukraine.

But I do think we may still see a lot of surprises with regard to this peace plan.

And frankly speaking, I will not be at all surprised if in the end this whole endeavor fails because Vladimir Putin never said anything that indicates that he wants to compromise.

In fact, everything he said in the last few days indicates that he wants all or nothing at all.

DW Russian affairs analyst Konstantin Eggert.