Witkoff met with Putin on Aug. 6, and a day later held a call with several European leaders detailing the plan which would see Ukraine ceding full control of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts in return.

Four U.S. and European officials speaking anonymously to Reuters said that many participants on the call were caught off guard and were “startled” at the proposal as they had different expectations of Putin’s intentions.

The next day, on Aug. 8, Witkoff reversed his stance. According to one of the sources, during a call organized by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio with European national security advisers, Witkoff clarified that Putin was not offering to withdraw from Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.

Reuters also reports that Witkoff — a real estate mogul with no previous diplomatic experience — went to the meeting with Putin without a U.S. State Department notetaker, thus breaking standard protocol and not having a record of Putin’s proposals.

The level of utter stupidity and incompetence continues to astound me.