As the world waits for Russia’s next move over the US-proposed ceasefire deal with Ukraine, one man has been trusted to negotiate a deal with Moscow – and he’s far from the typical diplomat.

Initially named as Mr Trump’s Middle East envoy shortly after the US election, Steve Witkoff has since been involved in negotiations with Russia about ending the war in Ukraine.

He has met Vladimir Putin several times, with another meeting planned in December, and has repeatedly said he thinks he has a “friendship” with the Russian leader, who he said wants peace.

However, a Bloomberg report claiming Witkoff advised a senior Kremlin aide on how to best approach Mr Trump over the topic of a peace plan has pushed the American firmly into the spotlight, leading some to question his approach.

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Mr Witkoff, 68, has been chosen to deal with Moscow by Mr Trump over US secretary of state Marco Rubio, who, on paper, is the country’s top diplomat, and Keith Kellogg, who was assigned to be the US envoy for Russia-Ukraine peace talks at the start of the year but told associates he plans to leave the administration in January.

So who is Steve Witkoff, and how important a figure will he be as the US tries to navigate peace between Russia and Ukraine?

From New York real estate to the Oval Office

Born in the Bronx, New York State, Mr Witkoff trained as a lawyer in real estate before turning his hand to property development.

In the 1990s he created his company, the Witkoff Group, which owns a number of properties in New York, most notably the Park Lane Hotel and The Woolworth Building.

Similarly to Mr Trump, he brought close family members into his company, including his now ex-wife, Lauren Rappoport, and their sons Zach and Alexander, who is co-chief executive.

As of 2019, the Witkoff Group owned almost 50 properties across the US and the rest of the world.

‘My dear friend President Trump’

The billionaire has known Mr Trump for decades, having first met him through a New York real estate company where the now president was a client.

The pair bonded over their mutual love of golf, and have been described by US senator Lindsey Graham as “golf buddies”.

Mr Witkoff was one of those on the fifth hole with the president at his course in West Palm Beach, Florida, in September last year, when a second apparent assassination attempt was made on his life.

Despite being regular opponents on the course, Mr Witkoff and Mr Trump are very much aligned in politics, with the businessman having donated to the Republican Party during the 2024 election.

He even spoke at the Republican National Convention back in July last year, where he said he had the “privilege” of calling Mr Trump a “true and dear friend for many years, in good times and bad times”.

Mr Witkoff also firmly backed Mr Trump’s foreign policy, saying at the inauguration parade: “We are done carrying the financial burden of nations that are unwilling to fund their own progress.

“The days of blank checks are over”.

A critical player in Middle East negotiations

During Mr Trump’s first term in office, Mr Witkoff played a more minor role, serving as one of the president’s Great American Economic Revival Industry Groups – which aimed to combat the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was over lunch with Mr Trump after his second election win that Mr Witkoff reportedly broached the idea of working on the Middle East – a region where he has extensive business ties, according to NBC.

“That stunned me because I didn’t know he was that interested in the Middle East,” Senator Graham told NBC back in January, while discussing Mr Witkoff’s appointment.

“And Trump looked at me and said: ‘Well, a million people have tried. Let’s pick a nice guy who’s a smart guy’.”

Mr Witkoff has proven to be a critical player in negotiations between Israel and Hamas and was the architect behind the Gaza peace plan, which has seen the release of the remaining Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in its first phase.

One person familiar with the negotiations described Mr Witkoff to NBC earlier this year as someone who is “very much engaged” with “his heart in the right place”.

A Middle Eastern diplomat, who spoke with NBC on condition of anonymity, added that the businessman was a tough negotiator but was also able to “empathise” with parents who have lost their children on both sides of the conflict, as he openly spoke about his son Andrew, who died of an OxyContin overdose in 2011 aged 22.

Growing criticism

Despite praise for Mr Witkoff’s approach to geopolitics, there is also growing criticism of him.

Shortly after his visit to Gaza back in January, he backed Mr Trump’s surprise announcement that the US wanted to “develop” the region and turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East”.

Mr Trump suggested that Gaza’s two million people would not return to their territory under the plans, which have been widely criticised as amounting to ethnic cleansing.

Mr Witkoff also faces questions over his first private meeting with Mr Putin in February, which he said lasted over three hours.

The details of the meeting and what was discussed have never been released, with only translators present at the time.

Mr Witkoff has also faced calls to be fired after saying the “root cause” of the war was the Kremlin’s view that Ukraine was a “false country”.

Appearing on the Tucker Carlson podcast in March, Mr Witkoff said Russia regarded five regions of Ukraine as “rightfully theirs”, which is what started the conflict.

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“Will the world acknowledge that those are Russian territories? Can Zelenskyy survive politically if he acknowledges this? This is the central issue in the conflict,” he said.

Oleskandr Merezkho, the chair of Ukraine’s foreign affairs committee, told Sky News that he thought Mr Witkoff should be removed as a representative of Mr Trump after making the comments, adding: “Is he an envoy of President Trump or… Putin’s envoy?”

Critics have suggested that Mr Witkoff has displayed naivety and has been easily deceived by Mr Putin and those around him, according to Sky News US correspondent Mark Stone.

Advising Russia?

Mr Witkoff visited Moscow several times since, with Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov revealing that the next visit is scheduled for the beginning of December.

In the latest controversy, Mr Witkoff is accused of advising Russia on how to best approach Mr Trump over the topic of the Ukraine peace plan.

He spoke to Mr Ushakov for around five minutes on 14 October and gave him advice, including suggesting Moscow set up a Trump-Putin call before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the White House the week after, according to a Bloomberg report.

Mr Witkoff reportedly said: “Zelenskyy is coming to the White House on Friday. I will go to that because they want me there, but I think if possible we have the call with your boss before that Friday meeting.”

The special envoy is also said to have suggested that Mr Putin compliment Mr Trump on his peace efforts in the Middle East.

He spoke of Mr Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan and suggested that “maybe we do the same thing with you”.

White House communications director Steven Cheung told Bloomberg: “This story proves one thing: special envoy Witkoff talks to officials in both Russia and Ukraine nearly every day to achieve peace, which is exactly what President Trump appointed him to do.”

After the report was published, Republican representative Don Bacon called for Mr Witkoff to be fired as he “fully favours the Russians”.

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Meanwhile, Mr Ushakov said that the leak of his telephone conversation with Mr Witkoff is an attempt to hinder the search for peace in Ukraine.

It is done “probably to interfere”, he told Russian state TV. “It is unlikely that this is done to improve relations. They are now being built, being built with difficulty, through such contacts, including by phone.”

Mr Ushakov added that he speaks to Mr Witkoff a lot, but these conversations are not public, and that the leak of their confidential call was “unacceptable”.

He also said that some of the reported details are “fake” and that he and Mr Witkoff will discuss the leak by phone before Mr Witkoff’s expected meeting with Mr Putin in December.