Will a real estate mogul be the man to persuade Putin on peace?

Steve Witkoff’s mission to Moscow this week underlines the importance Trump puts on his relationship with Putin. Whether he can persuade the Russian president to accept the US-Ukraine ceasefire deal is another matter entirely.

US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff speaks to reporters. Picture: AFP.

When President Trump sends an envoy to Moscow for critical negotiations over the Ukraine war this week, it won’t be Marco Rubio, his chief diplomat.

The man Trump has trusted with this critical mission, including a second potential meeting with President Putin, is his friend, golf partner and fellow real estate tycoon Steve Witkoff, whose diplomatic portfolio continues to expand.

Witkoff, who was not present at Rubio’s meetings with Ukrainian officials in Jeddah, comes to Moscow with one critical question hanging in the air: will Putin make any of the concessions Ukraine has been asked to in order to end the war? And will Witkoff even ask him to?

Putin has shown no willingness to budge from his maximalist position: holding on to all the Ukrainian territory Russian forces hold; demanding that a demilitarised, neutral Ukraine is banned from joining NATO; and that no European or NATO peacekeeping forces set foot on Ukrainian soil to monitor any ceasefire.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin might meet Steve Witkoff in Moscow this week. Picture: AFP.

Moscow did not confirm that Witkoff would meet Putin. Trump’s public tolerance for Moscow’s tough stance contrasts with his approach to Kyiv, which has been repeatedly asked to make concessions.

Witkoff was never meant to take on this role. He was originally appointed as Trump’s Middle East envoy. Last month, however, he scored a significant win in Trump’s eyes by negotiating a prisoner swap with Russia after face-to-face meetings with Putin. That was the easy part. Russia routinely arrests and detains westerners to swap for its own citizens in western jails.

Putin decided Witkoff was a man he could do business with and that preference overrode the appointment of a retired general, Keith Kellogg, as Trump’s special envoy on Russia and Ukraine. Kellogg, whom the Russians are reported to view as too sympathetic to Ukraine despite drawing up peace proposals that would accede to many of Moscow’s demands, was demoted to the administration’s liaison with the Ukrainians and Europeans. He will have no further contact role with the Russians.

The extent of Rubio’s role is also in doubt. He led the talks with Ukrainian representatives in Jeddah but will not travel on to Moscow. He has also clashed with Elon Musk, the president’s cost-cutting adviser, over cuts to the state department. Many believe it may come to be seen as disloyalty, given the Tesla tycoon’s closeness to Trump.

Witkoff’s mission to Moscow this week, instead of Rubio and Kellogg, underlines the importance Trump puts on his relationship with Putin. Whether Witkoff can persuade Putin to accept the US-Ukrainian ceasefire deal is another matter entirely.