U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, who recently emerged as a leading figure in negotiations regarding Russia and Ukraine, revealed insights into ongoing ceasefire talks between Moscow and Washington.
In an interview on March 21 with American far-right political commentator Tucker Carlson, Witkoff openly parroted Russian propaganda and agreed with most of the Kremlin's talking points, further casting doubt on whether Ukraine can expect to gain a ceasefire on its terms.
"I think the largest issue in that conflict are these so-called four regions, Donbas, Crimea ... and there's two others," Witkoff said, apparently referring to partly Russian-occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia oblasts, and Crimea, fully occupied by Russia since 2014.
"They are Russian-speaking, and there have been referendums where the overwhelming majority of the people have indicated that they want to be under Russian rule," Witkoff added, omitting the circumstances surrounding Russia's sham referendums "at gunpoint" in occupied Ukraine.
Following the start of Russia's all-out war, Moscow occupied parts of Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts in 2022 by killing thousands of people and destroying cities and towns.
The same happened in Ukraine's east, where Russia further advanced in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, a portion of which it held since 2014.
In September 2022, Russia annexed the four Ukrainian oblasts following sham referendums at gunpoint rejected by the international community as null and void. In videos published online, the vote was secured by the Russian military and under duress.
In the occupied regions, Russian forces systemically terrorized Ukrainian civilians with abductions and killings, committing war crimes such as rape and torture. Russia continues to consistently erase people's Ukrainian identity and prosecutes opponents of enforced Russification while also forcibly conscripting men to fight in the Russian army.
Ukraine continues to control regional capitals Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, with the later being liberated in November 2022. Following the liberation of the regional capital, thousands of people took to the streets in celebration, while thousands of others who were forced to leave were able to return home.
Igor Kossov
On the liberated territories, a number of Russian torture chambers were found.
Equating Ukrainian Russian speakers to Russians who support the war and using language as a way to justify its war against Ukraine is a common theme of Russian propaganda.
According to Witkoff, the problem around Russian-occupied oblasts is the Ukrainian administration's resistance to political fallout in case "the world (would) acknowledge that those are Russian territories."
"Can (President Volodymyr) Zelensky survive politically if he acknowledges this? This is the central issue in the conflict," Witkoff said.
Daria Shulzhenko
Witkoff also claimed that Ukraine will hold presidential elections. His statement came after Carlson echoed a Russian narrative, saying that Moscow considers Zelensky "not elected" and, therefore, "can't sign any kind of treaty."
Witkoff alleged that Ukrainian leadership had "largely conceded that they are not going to be a member of NATO" but added the discussion is open on whether Ukraine could have a degree of NATO-member protection from the U.S. and European countries.
Witkoff added that Russia "100%" doesn't want to wage a war in Europe or "absorb Ukraine" fully.
"(Russia's) reclaimed these five regions. They have Crimea, and they've gotten what they want. So why do they need more?" Witkoff added, not mentioning that Russia had made similar claims of not invading Ukraine prior to its full-scale invasion.
Witkoff empathized that Trump is focused on reviving their relationship with Putin over the course of peace talks.
"Who doesn't want to have a world where Russia and the United States are doing collaboratively good things together?" he said, mentioning the prospect of doing business as usual with Russia with "energy policies in the Arctic," selling natural gas to Europe and collaborating on AI.
"That is a complicated situation, including war and all the ingredients that led up to it. It's never just one person," Witkoff added.
Witkoff downplayed Russian President Vladimir Putin's role in the full-scale invasion.
With regards to a partial ceasefire that would halt strikes against infrastructure and moratorium on maritime hits in the Black Sea, Witkoff claimed that they are "going to be implemented in the next week or so."
Witkoff also said that Putin claimed to have prayed for "his friend" Trump in a local church after an attempt on Trump's life in July 2024 and gave Witkoff a commissioned portrait of Trump as a gift for the U.S. president.
"This is the kind of connection that we've been able to reestablish (with Russia) through a simple word called communication, which many people would say I shouldn't have had because Putin is a bad guy. I don't regard Putin as a bad guy," Witkoff added.
"This might be the stupidest thing I've ever seen," right-wing commentator Richard Hanania posted on X (Twitter) along with this segment of the interview.
Olena Goncharova
