Criticizing alleged international impact on Springer's article, Vance voices concerns.

In the ongoing saga of the Ukraine war, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff's negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin have come under the spotlight.

The Politico, owned by the German media conglomerate Axel Springer, published an article on Friday, detailing Witkoff's role in the negotiations. US Vice President JD Vance labelled this article as a "foreign influence operation."

JD Vance's criticism was not directed at the journalist Schwartz, who authored the article, but rather at unnamed "deep state" representatives. Vance accused these individuals of being angry that Witkoff has achieved what they failed to.

The article paints a picture of an ineffective negotiator overwhelmed by his job. Some of the individuals quoted in the article argue that the war is much more complex than Witkoff seems to understand, and hold him responsible for the lack of significant concessions from Moscow so far.

The meetings between Witkoff and Putin were preceded by several trips by the US special envoy to Russia. US President Donald Trump met with Putin on August 15 to discuss ending the Ukraine war. As of the article's publication, a proposed meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has not yet taken place.

It is important to note that Witkoff is primarily an real estate investor, and this is his first diplomatic role. The specific accusation is that Witkoff is unable to accurately convey Putin's "red lines" to Trump.

James Blair, deputy chief of staff at the White House, reportedly said that it was "influence by an online medium under German control." However, the article does not provide any new information about the sources of the Politico article in question.

JD Vance also criticized a journalist named Schwartz for publishing a story about Witkoff, accusing her of being a useful tool for introducing "garbage" into the discussion without regard for the truth. The journalist who published the article on Friday about US special envoy Steve Witkoff, however, remains unnamed in the provided search results.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz does not expect a meeting between Putin and Zelensky to happen in the near future. The outcome of these negotiations and Witkoff's role in them remain to be seen.

Criticizing alleged international impact on Springer's article, Vance voices concerns.