"Steve's a great dealmaker. But I noticed one thing about him. He had the greatest personality. He was a real estate guy in New York. He knew less about rivers and metes and bounds and Russia and the various places he's working on. He knew nothing about it … I have other guys, they're great deal makers, but you have to go into World War Three before the deal," Trump said at Hanukkah event on Tuesday.
Since mid-November, the US has been promoting a new peace plan for Ukraine. On December 2, Russian President Vladimir Putin received Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner in the Kremlin. The visit to Russia by the American envoys was regarding the discussion about the US peace plan for Ukraine. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said the meeting helped Moscow and Washington "make a step toward better understanding one another's positions."