Trump defends Steve Witkoff, his key negotiator with Russia : NPR

President Trump is defending Steve Witkoff, his special envoy, after leaked footage emerged showing him instructing a Russian official on how to best sell Moscow's terms for ending the war with Ukraine to the US president.

Trump dismissed any concerns as “standard stuff.”

“Because he has to sell it to Ukraine. He should sell Ukraine to Russia,” Trump said aboard Air Force One en route to Florida. “That's what a mediator does.”

The dispute has brought new attention to Witkoff, a longtime friend of the president and chief negotiator who has been criticized for his lack of experience and maverick style.

The recording is an October call on the eve of the unveiling of the original 28-point plan to end the war in Ukraine, which benefited Russia.

Bloomberg viewed the audio recording of the conversation and published the transcript. NPR has not independently verified the transcript or audio of the call.

Trump said Tuesday night that he did not hear the audio but had no problem assessing the conversation.

“You have to say, ‘Look, this is what they want. You must convince them of this. You know, this is a very standard form of negotiation,” he said.

The criticism was harsh: Vitkoff is not looking for a balanced deal, but is carrying water for Russia – the US adversary and aggressor in the war against Ukraine, a strategic partner and European ally.

But Trump doesn't seem too concerned. He sends Vitkov back to Moscow to try to finalize the details of the latest plan with Putin.

Trump and Witkoff have a long-standing friendship

Witkoff and the president have been friends for almost 40 years. Trump calls Witkoff a “special guy” and “my buddy.” Their friendship began with a chance meeting in a New York grocery store at 3 am.

Trump didn't have any money with him. “I ordered him ham and Swiss cheese,” Witkoff said, according to the report. Courthouse News about his testimony in Trump's defense during one of Trump's trials last year.

Vitkov said in interview with Tucker Carlson that he learned the real estate business from Trump.

“I wanted to be him,” Witkoff said. “Everyone wanted to be him. He came to 101 Park Avenue, where I worked as a lawyer. He had such a reckless style. I saw him come in and I said, “God, I want to be him.”

Witkoff described how Trump was by his side when one of his sons died of an opioid overdose in 2011.

“I saw his humanity in quiet moments away from the spotlight in hospital rooms that he didn’t necessarily need to be in — where his presence brought real comfort during a dark hour for my family,” Witkoff said at the Republican National Convention.

During the campaign, Witkoff helped with fundraising. Trump also turned to Witkoff to handle sensitive issues, such as trying to repair relations with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and presidential front-runner Nikki Haley.

“His best friend, Steve Witkoff, came to our house in South Carolina and talked to me and my husband and basically wanted a truce between me and Donald Trump,” Haley. said on her podcast. She told Witkoff that Trump had her support.

Vitkov's choice for the role previously played by his son-in-law

Long before entrusting him with the Ukraine peace deal, Trump chose his old friend as his envoy to the Middle East.

It was the same position that Trump – during his first term – took with another man whose loyalty was not in question: his son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Kushner, who now runs an investment firm, also came from the real estate world and handled many complex cases for Trump, including Middle Eastern world, trade negotiations with Mexico and Canada, immigration reform and parts of the administration response to the COVID pandemic.

During President Trump's first term, the position now held by Steve Witkoff was held by his son-in-law Jared Kushner. Kushner and Witkoff appeared together on February 20 at a conference in Miami organized by the nonprofit arm of Saudi Arabia's main sovereign wealth fund called the Future Investment Initiatives Institute (FII).

Many experts mocked Kushner's lack of experience when he began his White House duties, and some asked the same questions about Witkoff.

How Witkoff describes his approach to negotiations

The White House called Witkoff a loyal friend of the president, who left behind a major enterprise to serve the country. He does not take a salary and pays his own travel.

Witkoff is, of course, no stranger to creating controversy surrounding Russia.

Earlier this year, Witkoff raised eyebrows after appearing on Tucker Carlson's podcast and said Putin is “not a bad guy.”

In the same interview, Witkoff explained his approach to negotiations. “There's no doubt that I always try to put myself in the other person's shoes because a good deal has to work fairly for everyone,” he said.

Don Peebles, a real estate entrepreneur, told NPR this spring that he saw that attitude firsthand during hostile negotiations with Witkoff.

“If I were going to sum up his approach, it’s to find what the other person, the other side, wants, and try to give it to him,” said Peebles, who was a fundraiser for former President Barack Obama.

Peebles said he believes Witkoff likely has more experience in high-stakes negotiations than most diplomats.

He recalls how he had to deal with Vitkov during a major real estate transaction in New York. Peebles considered leaving. He felt as if a gun had been put to his head, but not from Vitkov.

Witkoff defused the situation by promising not to interfere and explained that they would both be better off as partners, Peebles recalls.

“He took a very hostile situation from my perspective and not only made the deal, but we've been friends ever since.”

The war in Ukraine is not the same as a real estate deal

But solving the problem of the war in Ukraine is incredibly difficult.

Even such negotiating giants as Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and James Baker will have a hard time convincing Putin to lay down his arms, according to Aaron David Miller, who has worked as a negotiator and analyst in both Republican and Democratic administrations.

“Deals are made when there is a pressing need,” said Miller, who now works at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “And the urgency depends on two things: how badly the parties are suffering and what the prospects for benefit are right now.”

Miller said the urgency requires a mediator who is willing to “use honey and vinegar” or incentives and disincentives to produce something that both Putin and Zelensky can rationalize as well as sell to their people.

“I just don’t see Putin being willing to make the kind of concessions that would be required to secure this situation and make it work,” Miller said.