U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, has rubbished British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s plan for a special coalition force to support a ceasefire in Ukraine.
Speaking with American far-right political commentator Tucker Carlson on March 21, Witkoff called Starmer’s plan "simplistic" and a "posture and a pose." He said he does not believe that Russia wants to further invade Europe or even absorb all of Ukraine.
"There is this sort of notion that we have all got to be like Winston Churchill. Russians are going to march across Europe. That is preposterous by the way," he told Carlson.
Starmer has called for countries to join a "coalition of the willing" that will include "planes in the air and boots on the ground" in an effort to secure a successful ceasefire in Ukraine. He stressed that the coalition would need "strong U.S. backing" to succeed.
Over 30 countries have expressed willingness to contribute to the coalition's peacekeeping force, Starmer's spokesperson said on March 17, confirming that the initiative has moved into an "operational phase."
Witkoff, who is officially special envoy to the Middle East, has recently emerged as a leading figure in negotiations regarding Russia and Ukraine and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month.
Natalia Yermak
In the interview with Carlson, he applauded U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to negotiate with Russia, saying that he is optimistic about "bringing the two sides together."
He also praised Putin as being gracious, adding that he doesn’t regard the Russian leader and war criminal as a "bad guy."
Witkoff went on to echo Russian propaganda narratives around referendums in the occupied regions in Ukraine, claiming that people there want to be under Russian rule. He left out that the referendums were a sham and carried out at gunpoint while also forgetting the names of the partially occupied Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.
He later told Fox News that he is not taking any sides but that there is a belief in Russia that the occupied territories are now considered Russian.
Witkoff repeatedly cheered on Trump’s 30-day temporary ceasefire agreement. Both Moscow and Kyiv agreed to stop targeting energy infrastructure for a month, although it has been repeatedly violated and dozens of Ukrainian civilians have been killed in Russian attacks over the last few days.
He said that the purpose of the 30-day ceasefire was to give time to negotiate a full ceasefire. U.S. representatives will meet with Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia on the evening of March 23 and then with Russian officials on March 24 to discuss the ceasefire.
The U.K. will host three days of military planning sessions this week to prepare high-level plans for mobilizing the coalition.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
(Updated: )
