Witkoff takes fire over call with top Putin aide: 5 takeaways

President Trump is standing behind his most trusted negotiator, Steve Witkoff, following the leak of a phone call with a senior Russian official, which Ukraine’s backers have criticized for what they see as the special envoy’s attempts to sabotage American support for Kyiv and broker a deal favorable to Moscow.

It’s the latest twist over a chaotic week in which the Trump administration’s behind-the-scenes dealmaking between Russia and Ukraine has spurred both optimism and questions about progress toward peace.

This includes the leak last week of a 28-point plan for ending Russia’s war that was heavily criticized as hewing to Moscow’s maximalist demands. That set off a diplomatic frenzy where Ukraine negotiated for its demands to be included, leading to talks over the weekend in which Ukrainian and U.S. officials agreed on a new set of “core terms,” leaving out major sticking points around future borders and security guarantees.

All of this should be done in private. I think the problem we have is all this is being done in public,” said Thomas Graham, a distinguished fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations who served as special assistant to President George W. Bush and senior director for Russia on the National Security Council staff.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/witkoff-takes-fire-over-call-222610212.html

And the clown car rolls on.