this post was submitted on 10 May 2025
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Using the Kremlin’s interpreter was “a very bad idea” that put Witkoff “at a real disadvantage,” Michael McFaul, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia, told NBC News.

Donald Trump’s special envoy broke with long-standing protocol by not employing his own interpreter during three high-level meetings with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, opting instead to rely on translators from the Kremlin, a U.S. official and two Western officials with knowledge of the talks told NBC News.

Steve Witkoff, who has been tasked with negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine, met with Putin in Moscow for several hours on Feb. 11, on March 13, and in St. Petersburg on April 11, and “used their translators,” one of the Western officials said. “If they speak to each other in Russian, he doesn’t know what they are saying,” the official added, referring to Putin and the interpreters.

Witkoff, a former real estate mogul and cryptocurrency trader, does not speak Russian. By using Kremlin interpreters, he ran the risk that some of the nuance in Putin’s messages was missed and he would not have been able to independently verify what was being said to him, two former American ambassadors said.

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[–] vegeta@lemmy.world 35 points 1 year ago

FTFY

Trump ~~envoy~~ relied on Kremlin ~~interpreter in meetings with Putin to end war in Ukraine~~

[–] Frjttr@lemm.ee 28 points 1 year ago

He’s so helplessly dumb.

[–] NatakuNox@lemmy.world 15 points 11 months ago

Ya im sure the interpreter made sure everything was communicated in a way that didn't put Russian interests first

[–] uawarebrah@sh.itjust.works 10 points 1 year ago

Almost as if he’s incredibly incompetent.

[–] cabron_offsets@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It’s only a bad idea if you want what’s best for the world excluding the blyats.

[–] Quill7513@slrpnk.net 9 points 1 year ago

the irony is that the better world will be better for the blyats and the american blyats. they just can't see it because they're so deeply steeped in the propaganda and information war. and they think they're the ones who really know what's going on but are stuck in their mindset

[–] Tarquinn2049@lemmy.world 5 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Just one more thing to blame when the "deal" ends up being as bad as they want it to be. Ignoring that it would also be their fault if a "mistranslation" led to the deal being bad. They only have to trick idiots into continuing to be strung along...

[–] magnetosphere@fedia.io 3 points 11 months ago

At this point, all I can do is shake my head and laugh. I’d be concerned if these were supposed to be good faith negotiations, but they’re not, so what the fuck ever.

They might as well be using sock puppets. Only idiots take these people seriously.

[–] fmstrat@lemmy.nowsci.com 1 points 11 months ago

Classic case of "I have never done this before and don't want to ask questions for fear of looking stupid."