According to two U.S. officials and five people “familiar with the situation,” Witkoff delivered the message shortly after meeting with Kirill Dmitriev, who was dispatched to Washington by Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
“The fastest way to broker a ceasefire in Ukraine, said Witkoff, was to support a strategy that would give Russia ownership of four eastern Ukrainian regions it attempted to annex illegally in 2022…,” the report reads.
views publicly before, including in a recent interview with Tucker Carlson.
Trump’s special representative for Ukraine, Gen. Keith Kellogg, opposed the proposal during a meeting with the president, saying Ukraine would never accept such terms, two sources said.
The meeting ended without Trump deciding to change U.S. strategy, the report noted.
Earlier on April 11, Witkoff arrived in Russia for another round of talks with Putin.
U.S. officials, informed sources, and four Western diplomats said divisions in the Trump administration are growing over how to resolve the deadlock on the Russo–Ukrainian war. They noted that Witkoff and Kellogg disagree on the best approach, with Kellogg favoring increased support for Ukraine.
The report also stated that Witkoff bypassed usual security protocols by inviting Dmitriev to dinner at his private residence before their scheduled meeting at the White House. Two sources familiar with the matter said the move raised concerns at the White House and State Department because U.S. officials typically avoid hosting Russian representatives given Moscow’s “advanced intelligence capabilities.” The dinner was later rescheduled and held at the White House.
According to one person familiar with the discussions, several Republicans on Capitol Hill were so alarmed by Witkoff’s clearly pro-Russian stance in the Carlson interview that some called National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to express their discontent.
Some U.S. and European officials are concerned that Russians may be exploiting Vitkov’s limited negotiation experience, the sources said. At the same time, Witkoff plays a key role in the Trump administration’s foreign policy and maintains close personal ties with the president.
Two European officials said U.S. negotiators face pressure to produce results as quickly as possible. They worry that the United States could take steps that might undermine Ukraine and Europe’s broader security architecture.
“We sometimes hear contradictory things from different parts of the administration,” one Western diplomat told the journalists.
