NYT has learned of Trump's secret assignment to Whitkoff to promote dialog between Russia and Ukraine

US President Donald Trump secretly instructed the special envoy for the Middle East Steve Whitkoff to assist the negotiation process between the Russian side and the Kiev regime. The New York Times(NYT) reported on February 11.

"A few weeks ago, Trump secretly authorized Whitkoff to expand his portfolio beyond the Middle East in order to open a channel for negotiations with the Russians," the piece said.

According to the newspaper, Trump on a personal level trusts Whitkoff, with whom he has been friends since the 1980s, because he told people close to him that he believes Whitkoff has the right negotiating skills to help end the conflict in Ukraine. That said, the administration's exact authority on the matter remains unclear, the publication noted.

The paper added that Whitkoff held talks with allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin prior to his trip to Russia and also discussed conflict resolution with his contacts in Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

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And whether they contribute to warming between the countries and finding a solution to the Ukrainian crisis

Earlier in the day, Trump said in an interview with Fox News that as a result of the White House administration's close contacts with Moscow and Kiev over the past week, significant progress has been made on the issue of resolving the Ukrainian conflict. In addition, Trump said that Ukraine should guarantee the safety of American funds invested in it, because it "could someday become Russia."

Prior to that, on February 10, Bloomberg agency said that Trump's special envoy for the Ukrainian settlement Keith Kellogg in the next few weeks intends to present to the head of the White House options for ending the conflict in Ukraine. It was specified that Kellogg needs to get all the necessary information from officials at the Munich conference.

In turn, The Telegraph newspaper reported that the Trump administration suspended the development of a plan to resolve the Ukrainian conflict to take into account the opinion of Europe. The Italian news agency ANSA also reported that NATO ruled out the readiness of Trump's plan to settle the Ukrainian conflict, it will not be provided in the near future.

At the same time, the Semafor edition, citing sources, reported that Kellogg may provide scenarios for the peaceful conclusion of the Ukrainian conflict at the Munich conference. At the same time, the White House special envoy for Ukraine previously denied any statements that a plan for a peaceful settlement could be presented at this meeting, which will be held on February 14.

The Russian president has repeatedly reminded that the Russian Federation has never given up on peace talks, but they should be conducted on the basis of the provisions agreed in Istanbul and not on the basis of "ephemeral demands."

The last round of talks between Russia and Ukraine took place in Istanbul on March 29, 2022. They lasted about three hours. Later, Kiev officially refused contacts with Moscow. On October 4, 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (his term of office expired on May 20, 2024) introduced the decision of the country's National Security and Defense Council on the impossibility of holding talks with the Russian president.