Miracle weapon Witkoff? Trump’s man for everything

Ukraine war

Miracle weapon Witkoff? Trump’s man for everything

His diplomatic experience is limited – and yet the former real estate investor Steve Witkoff negotiates global political affairs on behalf of the USA. Who is this man?

Real estate investor, generous Republican donor and now US special envoy: Within a very short time, Steve Witkoff has become one of the key figures in US foreign policy – even though he comes from the private sector.

The Trump confidant also plays a central role in the ongoing negotiations to end Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine. The 68-year-old is sometimes accused of being too close to Russia. This Tuesday, Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin expects the special envoy to attend negotiations in Moscow again.

Witkoff is not a diplomat, but a real estate entrepreneur like US President Donald Trump. Both are said to have met for the first time in New York in the mid-80s. In the 1990s, Witkoff made a name for himself with risky real estate projects. He also became known for his cleverly negotiated real estate deals. His generous donations to Republicans may also have caught Trump’s attention.

Witkoff is married and had three sons. One of them died in 2011 as a result of an overdose.

In his second term in office, Trump initially appointed Witkoff as special adviser for the Middle East – and thereby attracted critics who accused the real estate mogul of a lack of diplomatic experience. Concerns quickly arose about his objectivity because Witkoff is supposed to maintain business relationships in the region. Trump was undeterred. Instead, he also tasked Witkoff with negotiating the nuclear deal with Iran.

In the Middle East, Witkoff, along with other mediators, achieved a ceasefire between Israel and the Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas. However, the agreement is fragile and a lasting solution is uncertain.

The Bloomberg news agency recently published a transcript of a five-minute phone call from mid-October. In it, Witkoff apparently gives Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy advisor, Yuri Ushakov, tips on how to get Trump’s attention – with flattery for his Gaza peace plan.

In fact, the advice appears to have resulted in a phone call between Putin and Trump just a few days later. After the conversation, the American promised a meeting with his Russian colleague in the Hungarian capital Budapest. A visit by Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House shortly after the phone call became less important. Trump was disappointed by Moscow’s unwillingness to negotiate, canceled the summit and imposed sanctions on the major Russian oil exporters Rosneft and Lukoil.