Thread by @FDehyd

@michaeldweiss 1).
„It is hard to pinpoint a moment in history when businessmen have held such direct sway over matters of war and peace. Since the end of WWII, Washington's relationship with Moscow was its most carefully calibrated, helmed by spy agencies who knew their rival intimately.

@michaeldweiss 2).
Seasoned diplomats rehearsed rigid protocols to prevent misunderstandings between two nuclear powers poised like scorpions in a jar.

Today, those structures are virtually absent. America has had no ambassador in Moscow since June.

@michaeldweiss 3).
There is no assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs. @SteveWitkoff has declined multiple offers from the @CIA for a briefing on Russia.

@michaeldweiss @SteveWitkoff @CIA 4).
The @StateDept assigned a small group of staffers to support @SEPeaceMissions, but members of that team, and others across the administration, have struggled to get summaries of Witkoffʼs foreign meetings.

@michaeldweiss @SteveWitkoff @CIA @StateDept @SEPeaceMissions 5).
Longtime allies in Europe also feel left in the dark, and worry that Washington no longer has their back, while Middle East monarchies are ascendant.

@michaeldweiss @SteveWitkoff @CIA @StateDept @SEPeaceMissions 6).
One question is whether Pootin has embraced this new channel of businessmen-diplomats out of a sincere desire to negotiate peace-or whether the former KGB officer in the Kremlin is leading an elaborate deception,

@michaeldweiss @SteveWitkoff @CIA @StateDept @SEPeaceMissions 7).
designed to mirror @realDonaldTrump's mercantile values back at him, and string him along.

– »Trump thinks like a businessman, he thinks deals, but Pootin thinks 100% the opposite«

@michaeldweiss @SteveWitkoff @CIA @StateDept @SEPeaceMissions @realDonaldTrump 8).
– said Boris Bondarev (@Vizlypuzly1) [1] [2] [3] [4] [5], a former senior Russian diplomat who fled shortly after the Ukraine invasion and now lives in hiding.

@michaeldweiss @SteveWitkoff @CIA @StateDept @SEPeaceMissions @realDonaldTrump @Vizlypuzly1 9).
– »For Pootin, the war is more than a worldly matter, it’s something sacred, something he must do, and that’s why he sees Trump as a very simple guy«.”

Dec. 19, 2025

@michaeldweiss @SteveWitkoff @CIA @StateDept @SEPeaceMissions @realDonaldTrump @Vizlypuzly1 10).
Endnotes:

[1] ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%91%D0…

[2] @MoscowTimes_ru web.archive.org/web/2025111107…

[3] @MoscowTimes themoscowtimes.com/author/boris-b…

[4] @bbcrussian bbc.com/russian/featur…

[5] @JamestownTweets jamestown.org/analyst/boris-…

Source:

@WSJ archive.ph/dMBMc

@michaeldweiss @SteveWitkoff @CIA @StateDept @SEPeaceMissions @realDonaldTrump @Vizlypuzly1 @MoscowTimes_ru @MoscowTimes @bbcrussian @JamestownTweets @WSJ Разверни ee (unroll), пожалуйста @threadreaderapp. Заранее спасибо 𓃠