Trump stands by envoy who coached top Kremlin official

US president says 'that's what a dealmaker does' after Steve Witkoff caught teaching Putin aide how to praise Trump

- MAIRA BUTT

Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff advised a senior Russian official on how to praise the president in order to secure a peace deal in Ukraine, according to a leaked transcript.

Mr Witkoff told Vladimir Putin’s senior aide Yuri Ushakov to ensure the Russian leader congratulated the US president following the announcement of his Gaza deal, insisting that the praise would ensure their discussion would be “a really good call”.

A transcript of the recorded phone call from October was released by Bloomberg News on Tuesday. It emerged as Mr Witkoff prepares to meet with Putin next week to discuss a revised peace plan for Ukraine.

Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov dismissed talk of a peace deal being close as premature, adding: “There can be no question of any concessions, or any surrender of our approaches to those key points.”

After details of Mr Witkoff’s call were leaked, the White House disputed the conversation, and Mr Trump defended his envoy when asked about it by reporters.