NBC reports that, shockingly, during his latest Moscow pilgrimage Witkoff met with Putin and his two negotiators alone and without his own interpreter, relying - in breach of protocol - on a locally present one www.nbcnews.com/world/russia.... However, this seems half the problem (1/n)
— christogrozev.bsky.social (@christogrozev.bsky.social) 10 May 2025 at 16:10
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Here's the video released by the Kremlin. It clearly shows Witkoff pointing at the young woman and asking "Interpreter?", to which Putin & Co say "yes". Following that, cryptically Witkoff asks "from Embassy?", to which he again gets a confirmation.
— christogrozev.bsky.social (@christogrozev.bsky.social) 10 May 2025 at 16:11
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So what embassy is the interpreter from? Obviously there's no Russian embassy in Moscow (unless Witkoff thinks so), so a logical conclusion is that he was assured she was, hm, sent by or approved by the US embassy? Anyway, let's look at who she is.
— christogrozev.bsky.social (@christogrozev.bsky.social) 10 May 2025 at 16:12
She apparently is the government appointed interpreter for key Russian political figures, such as Putin, Lavrov and Medvedev.
— christogrozev.bsky.social (@christogrozev.bsky.social) 10 May 2025 at 16:14
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More worryingly, she's also apparently the interpreter for the head of Russia's foreign intelligence agency, Naryshkin.
— christogrozev.bsky.social (@christogrozev.bsky.social) 10 May 2025 at 16:14
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Her name is Natalia Koshkina, born 1991. Currently she works as second secretary of the Russian MFA's linguistics department..but a few years ago she worked as third secretary of the Russian mission to NATO in Brussels.. almost certainly not am interpreter job.
— christogrozev.bsky.social (@christogrozev.bsky.social) 10 May 2025 at 16:15
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Leaked social insurance records show that in addition to being employed by the MFA, she is also working for the holding company of RT, the Kremlin's propaganda mouthpiece.
— christogrozev.bsky.social (@christogrozev.bsky.social) 10 May 2025 at 16:16
So the question is: did Witkoff really think she was sent by the US embassy? Or did, maybe worse, the UA embassy in Moscow endorse her as a "neutral" interpreter for a negotiation where lives of hundreds of thousands of people - plus the security of half the world - were at stake?
— christogrozev.bsky.social (@christogrozev.bsky.social) 10 May 2025 at 16:16
