Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that targeted attempts are being made to sabotage peace efforts in Ukraine after information leaked to the media about an alleged conversation between US special envoy Steve Witkoff and the Russian president's senior foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov, DPA reported, BTA reports.
“Obviously, there are many people in different countries, including the United States, who want to stop the trend towards peace“, Peskov said, quoted by TASS. However, he downplayed the significance of the emerging information, published last night by “Bloomberg“. According to the publication, it is a recording of a telephone conversation from October between Witkoff and Ushakov, in which the American envoy gave advice on how the Russian leadership should interact with President Donald Trump. Earlier today, Trump defended Witkoff, saying that what he heard sounded like “standard negotiations“.
“I would not exaggerate the destructive nature of these leaks. President Trump himself indirectly spoke out in defense of Witkoff - this is the normal work of a negotiator with the parties in a negotiation process. Even if we ignore the question of whether the information is true or not, there is nothing unusual in it“, Peskov pointed out.
He stressed that achieving a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine is currently of paramount importance and that a serious process with the participation of the United States is already underway. He said Moscow expects Witkoff to visit Russia next week, where he is expected to hold detailed talks with Vladimir Putin.
For his part, Yuri Ushakov said, also quoted by TASS, that his conversations with Witkoff were not intended for public disclosure. "Nobody is allowed to publish this. Nobody," he stressed.
Like Peskov, Dmitriev also expressed the opinion that the publication of the phone conversations was intended to sabotage peace efforts.