Trump Envoy Steve Witkoff’s Ties to Russia Come Under Scrutiny. Here’s What to Know

 https://time.com/7336906/steve-witkoff-russia-call-trump-ukraine-peace-plan/

President Donald Trump appears unfazed that a Cabinet-level envoy appeared to be advising the other side in ongoing foreign-policy negotiations.

After Bloomberg published a bombshell report on Tuesday revealing a purported transcript of U.S. Special Envoy for Peace Missions Steve Witkoff, who has been credited with helping to broker the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and who is currently working on U.S. efforts to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine, guiding Vladimir Putin’s senior foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov on how the Kremlin could best get through to Trump.

Putin apparently followed through. A Kremlin readout of an Oct. 16 call with Trump said that Putin “started out by congratulating Donald Trump on his successful efforts to normalise the situation in the Gaza Strip.” A few weeks later, the Trump Administration unveiled a 28-point peace proposal for Ukraine that was reportedly drafted by Witkoff. Observers said it heavily favored Russia’s priorities, and Reuters reported that it drew significantly from a paper outlining Russia’s conditions for an end to the war.