Who is Steven Witkoff? He is yet another envoy from Trump regarding the war in Ukraine, who has traveled to Moscow.

U.S. President Donald Trump has tasked Steven Witkoff with addressing the issue of the war in Ukraine. As the special representative of the White House, Witkoff visited Moscow and has joined the team of negotiators aimed at ending the conflict.

RBK-Ukraine has compiled all that is known about Steven Witkoff.

Who is Steven Witkoff

Steven Charles Witkoff is an American billionaire, investor, and developer. He is 67 years old, born in New York, and holds a degree in law.

Witkoff began his career as a real estate attorney. After graduating, he worked at the New York law firm Dreyer&Traub, where one of his clients was Donald Trump. They developed a friendship while working on a business agreement.

After two years of practicing law, Witkoff co-founded the residential and commercial real estate company Stellar Management with a colleague.

In the late 1990s, he established his own company, Witkoff Group, which owned over 50 properties in the U.S. and abroad as of 2019.

Trump's Envoy

Steven Witkoff was part of Donald Trump's team during his first presidential term.

In 2020, amid the coronavirus pandemic, he led the Great American Economic Revival Industry Group, created to combat the economic repercussions of the pandemic.

He supported Trump during his 2024 presidential campaign and served as co-chairman of the inauguration committee.

Following his election to the White House, Donald Trump announced that he would appoint Steve Witkoff as special representative for the Middle East.

Earlier this year, Witkoff participated in negotiations for a ceasefire and prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas alongside Biden administration representative Brett McGurk and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.

According to The New York Times, Witkoff's candid, straightforward, and aggressive negotiation style contributed to the agreement on a ceasefire, which included the exchange of 33 hostages held by Hamas for 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.

At the end of January, Witkoff traveled to Israel and visited Gaza to personally observe the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

What Witkoff Did in Moscow

On February 11, Steve Witkoff visited Moscow on a special mission and flew back American Mark Fogel, who had spent three years in a Russian prison on drug charges.

FoxNews reported that on Tuesday in Moscow, Witkoff held a three-hour meeting with Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin.

It later emerged that U.S. President Donald Trump had secretly expanded Witkoff's mandate beyond Middle Eastern issues "to open a negotiation channel with the Russians" several weeks prior.

According to sources cited by the NYT, Trump trusts Witkoff and believes he possesses the necessary negotiation skills to help end the war in Ukraine.

Witkoff has also engaged in direct talks with unnamed "close allies" of Vladimir Putin and discussed Ukraine with contacts in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

The day after Witkoff's visit to Russia, on February 12, Trump held a phone conversation with Putin.

Following their discussion, the American leader stated that he had agreed with Putin to "work very closely" together and that "the respective teams would start negotiations immediately."

Trump also announced that Steven Witkoff would be part of the U.S. negotiating team aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.

It is worth noting that earlier, Donald Trump had appointed retired General Keith Kellogg as his envoy for Ukraine and Russia.

As reported by the NYT, it remains unclear how the responsibilities will be divided between Witkoff and Kellogg.

Moreover, when announcing the composition of the negotiating team, Trump did not mention Keith Kellogg.

Sources used for this preparation include: publications from NYT, FoxNews, posts by Donald Trump on Truth Social, and information from Wikipedia.