U.S. President Donald Trump "issued an ultimatum" to Moscow and Kyiv to make progress in peace negotiations, otherwise the U.S. will abandon the process, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said in an interview with Breitbart News published on May 12.
"The president has issued an ultimatum to both sides that without those direct talks and if they don’t occur quickly, then he believes the United States ought to step back from this conflict whatever that means and just not be involved," Witkoff said in an interview recorded on May 8, before discussions about possible high-level talks in Turkey on May 15.
Witkoff has been a key figure in Trump's efforts to broker a peace between Moscow and Kyiv, personally meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin as well as Ukrainian and European officials.
The real estate investor-turned-negotiator has faced criticism over his poor negotiation record, tendency to adopt Russian talking points on Ukraine, and reported reliance on Kremlin translators during talks with Putin.
Witkoff told Breitbart News last week that a meeting between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Putin is "entirely possible."
Zelensky has proposed meeting Putin in Istanbul on May 15, which would mark their first meeting during the full-scale war, and urged an unconditional ceasefire starting on May 12. Moscow has ignored the proposals for a truce and a meeting of the two leaders but backed starting direct talks this week.
According to Witkoff, the key topics in peace talks are the fate of the five partially or fully occupied Ukrainian regions, the status of the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, and Ukraine's access to the Dnipro River and the Black Sea.
Russia currently occupies roughly 20% of Ukraine's territory, including the entire Crimean peninsula, almost the entire Luhansk Oblast, and large parts of Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts.
The Kremlin has illegally declared these territories as part of the Russian Federation and insisted on Ukraine's full withdrawal from these areas to achieve a peace deal.
"Russia has control — overwhelming control — of two of those regions. The Ukrainians have some degree of control over three other regions, so it’s about how we’re going to assess — there’s a difference between where the battle line are, where the troops are, and the administrative lines," Witkoff said.
"The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant is a big part of this discussion because it’s a little bit of a crown jewel and it’s been closed, but we need to reopen that because it delivers a lot of electricity into some of the cities (like) Kyiv."
The U.S. has reportedly proposed taking control of the Zaporizhzhia power plant while ensuring it provides electricity to both Ukraine and Russia. Washington's peace proposals have also reportedly included the U.S. formally recognizing Russian annexation of Crimea, a step resolutely rejected by Ukraine and its European allies.
During the interview, Witkoff also defended his criticized meetings with Putin, saying: "There is no deal without President Putin’s sign off. He is the leader of the Russian Federation, so the notion of not talking to President Putin is somehow something people are against, I don’t understand that logic."
Chris York,
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