Overview

• After an Aug. 6 Moscow meeting, Steve Witkoff told President Trump that Vladimir Putin was ready to make concessions, prompting a rapid Aug. 15 summit in Alaska that ended without a cease-fire or agreement.
• Officials told the New York Post that Witkoff met in Moscow without a State Department notetaker, leaving no U.S. paper record of any proposal from Putin.
• Sources cited by the Post say Witkoff initially described a possible swap of Russian-held areas in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson for full control of Donetsk and Luhansk, then shifted to say no territory would be relinquished.
• A Politico report, relayed by Raw Story, describes U.S. and European frustration with Witkoff’s secretive approach, inconsistent readouts, and sparse staffing that left colleagues unsure what had been discussed.
• The administration publicly defended its approach, with the State Department saying Trump, Witkoff, and Secretary Marco Rubio are in lockstep on the Russia-Ukraine strategy.