Interview
The publication by the Russians could have been a step of revenge. Khurshudyan
On November 26, a recording of a phone conversation between Trump's envoy, Witkoff, and Putin's aide, Ushakov, was published, in which Witkoff offered Ushakov advice on winning Trump's favor and conducting successful negotiations with him.
Radar Armenia spoke to political scientist Hovsep Khurshudyan on the topic.
-What did the publication of that recording mean?
-It is not clear who recorded and published this conversation. There is an opinion that the Kremlin did it. The reason may be that the process did not proceed according to its script, and it was necessary to abort it.
-Can this affect further US-Russia negotiations, and how?
-It significantly embarrassed Trump and also discredited Witkoff as the primary negotiator. Trump was also forced to admit that the draft was drawn up in Russia, and they will negotiate with Ukraine based on the latter's proposals.
-Can the publication of the telephone conversation cause new tensions in the domestic political arena of the United States, especially in matters of trust in the Trump administration, national security, and diplomatic secrecy?
-Yes, of course. Witkoff's behavior during that conversation sparked widespread protests in the United States. In particular, there were accusations that what he did was tantamount to treason. However, we cannot rule out that Witkoff coordinated all his steps with Trump. However, the publication of this recording by the Russians could be a revenge move for the fact that Trump, instead of putting pressure on Ukraine and forcing it to accept this Russian plan, began negotiations with Zelensky and made significant changes to the proposed points, rendering the document unacceptable to Putin. And now there is a danger that the Kremlin itself will appear as a party that disrupts peace, a party with an unconstructive position.
