Latest news with #MichaelMcFaul
South China Morning Post
19-05-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Trump-Xi direct talks needed soon as clock ticks on trade truce: ex-US diplomat
A direct conversation between the leaders of the world's two most powerful nations must take place as soon as possible, a former senior US diplomat has suggested, as the clock counted down on the 90-day truce in the trade war between China and the United States Advertisement Nearly four months since Donald Trump began his second term as US president, it appeared that he and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping still had not spoken to each other, a situation that Michael McFaul, America's ambassador to Russia during the administration of former president Barack Obama, described as 'horrible'. 'It's May. They need to be talking. And [US Secretary of State Marco] Rubio needs to come to your country. And we have to have government-to-government dialogue,' McFaul said on Sunday during an event at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University in Beijing. He said that past and recent examples, including the short interaction with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at St Peter's Basilica in Vatican City last month, proved that one-to-one meetings were 'very important' to Trump. 'I think more engagement at the highest levels is the first step towards a better (US-China) bilateral relationship,' said McFaul, who is now the director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution.
Telegraph
11-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Trump's top negotiator accused of breaking protocol in talks with Putin
Donald Trump's top negotiator broke with long-standing protocol by using the Kremlin's translators for three high-level meetings with Vladimir Putin, officials have claimed. Steve Witkoff, a real estate tycoon and cryptocurrency trader, has been tasked with negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine and has met with Putin four times in three months. Mr Witkoff did not employ his own interpreters during meetings with the Russian president on Feb 11, March 13 and April 11, a US official and two European officials told NBC News. 'If they speak to each other in Russian, he doesn't know what they are saying,' one Western official said. Michael McFaul, former US ambassador to Russia, called Mr Witkoff's decision 'a very bad idea' that put him at a 'real disadvantage'. 'Language is never the same' 'I speak Russian and have listened to Kremlin interpreters and US interpreters at the same meeting, and the language is never the same,' Mr McFaul told NBC News. A video of Mr Witkoff's visit to the Kremlin on April 25 showed Putin greeting him with open arms. He did not appear to be accompanied by advisers who usually support US officials at negotiations. When a woman joined Mr Witkoff on his side of the table, he pointed at her and said, 'Interpreter? From the embassy? OK.' Mr McFaul also said that using a US interpreter also ensures a more accurate written account of the meeting for the rest of the government, known as a memorandum of conversation or 'memcon'. 'At the end of every meeting that I attended, I debriefed the interpreter to make sure we heard everything correctly, to get the 'memcom' exactly right. You can't do that using a Russian official,' he said. This could create problems for other senior members of the Trump administration such as Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, and special envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg, Mr McFaul said. 'How does Kellogg know what Witkoff agreed to with Putin? He only knows it through a 'memcom,'' he added. Mr Witkoff's conduct in high-profile negotiations has previously been called into question, with another source previously saying he was a 'nice guy, but a bumbling f---ing idiot'. His meetings with Putin have also been criticised by the Ukrainians after he appeared to repeat Kremlin talking points in an interview with Tucker Carlson. 'I think the largest issue in that conflict are these so-called four regions – Donbass, Crimea, you know the name Lugansk, and there are two others. They're Russian-speaking,' he told the former Fox News host. Mr Witkoff was initially brought in by Mr Trump as special envoy for the Middle East but his role has been expanded to cover the war in Ukraine. Anna Kelly, a White House deputy press secretary, said in a statement that Mr Witkoff 'abides by all security protocols in coordination with the State Department'.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump's top negotiator accused of breaking protocol in talks with Putin
Donald Trump's top negotiator broke with long-standing protocol by using the Kremlin's translators for three high-level meetings with Vladimir Putin, officials have claimed. Steve Witkoff, a real estate tycoon and cryptocurrency trader, has been tasked with negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine and has met with Putin four times in three months. Mr Witkoff did not employ his own interpreters during meetings with the Russian president on Feb 11, March 13 and April 11, a US official and two European officials told NBC News. 'If they speak to each other in Russian, he doesn't know what they are saying,' one Western official said. Michael McFaul, former US ambassador to Russia, called Mr Witkoff's decision 'a very bad idea' that put him at a 'real disadvantage'. 'I speak Russian and have listened to Kremlin interpreters and US interpreters at the same meeting, and the language is never the same,' Mr McFaul told NBC News. A video of Mr Witkoff's visit to the Kremlin on April 25 showed Putin greeting him with open arms. He did not appear to be accompanied by advisers who usually support US officials at negotiations. When a woman joined Mr Witkoff on his side of the table, he pointed at her and said, 'Interpreter? From the embassy? OK.' Mr McFaul also said that using a US interpreter also ensures a more accurate written account of the meeting for the rest of the government, known as a memorandum of conversation or 'memcon'. 'At the end of every meeting that I attended, I debriefed the interpreter to make sure we heard everything correctly, to get the 'memcom' exactly right. You can't do that using a Russian official,' he said. This could create problems for other senior members of the Trump administration such as Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, and special envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg, Mr McFaul said. 'How does Kellogg know what Witkoff agreed to with Putin? He only knows it through a 'memcom,'' he added. Mr Witkoff's conduct in high-profile negotiations has previously been called into question, with another source previously saying he was a 'nice guy, but a bumbling f---ing idiot'. His meetings with Putin have also been criticised by the Ukrainians after he appeared to repeat Kremlin talking points in an interview with Tucker Carlson. 'I think the largest issue in that conflict are these so-called four regions – Donbass, Crimea, you know the name Lugansk, and there are two others. They're Russian-speaking,' he told the former Fox News host. Mr Witkoff was initially brought in by Mr Trump as special envoy for the Middle East but his role has been expanded to cover the war in Ukraine. Anna Kelly, a White House deputy press secretary, said in a statement that Mr Witkoff 'abides by all security protocols in coordination with the State Department'. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Marco Rubio unveils major restructuring of the US State Department
The US State Department announced a sweeping restructure with plans to eliminate 132 offices and 700 positions. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the reorganization would undo 'decades of bloat.' US diplomats were anxious about the planned cuts, especially after a purported draft executive order circulated over the weekend calling for shutting down some operations in sub-Saharan Africa. The plan announced Tuesday doesn't cut that bureau, but does target others focused on human rights, war crimes, and democracy. The State Department is stuck in an outdated world order and does need reform, former US ambassador Michael McFaul acknowledged — but scaling back Washington's presence abroad 'would be disastrous for American national interests.'
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump eyes near 50 percent cut in State Dept budget: US media
The US State Department is expected to propose an unprecedented scaling back of Washington's diplomatic reach, multiple news outlets reported Tuesday, shuttering programs and embassies worldwide to slash the budget by almost 50 percent. The proposals, contained in an internal departmental memo said to be under serious discussion by senior officials, would eliminate almost all funding for international organizations such as the United Nations and NATO. Financial support for international peacekeeping would be curtailed, along with funding for educational and cultural exchanges like the Fulbright Program, one of the most prestigious US scholarships. The plan comes with President Donald Trump pressing a broader assault on government spending, and a scaling back of America's leading role on the international stage. But the American Foreign Service Association called the proposed cuts "reckless and dangerous" while former US ambassador to Moscow Michael McFaul decried a "giant gift to the Communist Party of China." The memo says the State Department will request a $28.4 billion budget in fiscal year 2026, beginning October 1 -- $26 billion less than the 2025 figure, according to The New York Times. Although it has little to say about humanitarian aid, programs tackling tropical disease, providing vaccines to children in developing nations and promoting maternal and child health would go, the Times reported. USAID -- the sprawling development agency eyed for closure by Trump and Musk -- is assumed by the memo's authors to have been fully absorbed into the State Department, said The Washington Post. Only the Republican-controlled Congress -- which needs Democratic votes to pass most laws -- has the authority to sign off on the cuts. But the proposals will likely loom large in lawmakers' negotiations over the 2026 budget. Government departments were facing a deadline of this week to send the White House their plans for cuts, but the State Department has yet to make any public announcements. It is not clear if Secretary of State Marco Rubio has endorsed the April 10 memo, but he would need to sign off on any cuts before they could be considered by Congress. The document earmarks 10 embassies and 17 consulates for closure, including missions in Eritrea, Luxembourg, South Sudan and Malta, according to politics outlet Punchbowl News. Five consulates earmarked for closure are in France while two are in Germany, Punchbowl reported. The list also includes missions in Scotland and Italy. In Canada, US consulates in Montreal and Halifax would be downsized to "provide 'last-mile' diplomacy with minimal local support," the website reported, citing the document. US missions to international bodies such as the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and the UN's children's fund, UNICEF, would be merged with the diplomatic outposts in the city where they are located. AFP contacted the State Department for comment but there was no immediate response. ft/st
