In an interview with Fox News on March 23, U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff discussed negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, expressing his optimism about Russian President Vladimir Putin's commitment to peace.
Witkoff, who brokered the now broken Jan. 15 ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, has become a leading figure in negotiations regarding Russia and Ukraine.
When asked whether he was convinced that Putin was seeking peace, he responded in the affirmative: "I feel that he wants peace," said Witkoff.
"Our job is to narrow the issues, bring the parties together, and stop the killing. That's the game plan. And that's what we're all there to do," he added, discussing the role of the U.S. in the negotiations.
Witkoff's comments come as Russia launched a deadly drone attack against Kyiv overnight on March 23. Three people, including a five-year-old girl and her father, were killed in the strikes.
On March 21, three people in Odesa Oblast were injured as a result of a massive Russian drone attack.
When asked about Putin's territorial ambitions beyond Ukraine, Witkoff responded: "I simply have said that I just don't see that he wants to take all of Europe."
Witkoff's assessment contrasts intelligence assessments made by European allies since the start of the full-scale invasion.
Denmark – a key NATO ally – in recent months released an unclassified intelligence assessment indicating that Russia may find the opportunity to launch a large-scale war on Europe within five years, if Moscow "perceives NATO as militarily weakened or politically divided."
The latest intelligence assessment comes amid a series of increasingly dire warnings from Western leaders and defense officials about the threat emanating from Russia and Europe's current lack of preparedness.
Witkoff also dismissed the relevance of ascertaining Putin's motivations. "It sort of doesn't matter. That's an academic issue."
In an earlier interview with American far-right political commentator Tucker Carlson on March 21, Witkoff openly parroted Russian propaganda regarding the partly Russian-occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia oblasts, and Crimea, fully occupied by Russia since 2014.
Speaking with Fox News, Witkoff repeated an additional Kremlin talking point, implying that NATO is responsible for Russia's invasion of Ukraine: "This is a much different situation than it was War II. In World War II there was no NATO... I take [Putin] at his word."
Natalia Yermak
(Updated: )
