The former Ukrainian territories want to stay with Russia, Steve Witkoff has said
The status of the former Ukrainian territories that have joined Russia following referendums is key to resolving the conflict between Moscow and Kiev, Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, told American journalist Tucker Carlson in an interview released on Friday.
Witkoff, who has also been actively involved in the US efforts to resolve the Ukraine conflict, described the issue as “an elephant in the room” that “no one wants to talk about.”
“They’re Russian-speaking. There have been referendums where the overwhelming majority of the people have indicated that they want to be under [the] Russian rule,” Witkoff told Carlson during the hour-and-a-half-long interview, adding that Moscow also exercises effective control over the territories.
Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions, as well as the two Donbass republics, officially joined Russia in autumn 2022 following a series of referendums.
Kiev has never recognized the votes and continues to claim sovereignty over the territories, as well as over Crimea, which joined Russia back in 2014. The Ukrainian military still controls parts of Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, including the regional capitals of the latter two.
According to Witkoff, the issue now is whether the world will acknowledge these territories as Russian and whether Kiev will agree to drop its claims to them. “There are constitutional issues within Ukraine as to what they can concede to with regard to giving up territory,” the envoy said, adding that it could also be particularly difficult for Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky as it could jeopardize his political career.
“Can Zelensky survive politically if he acknowledges this? This is the central issue in the conflict,” Witkoff said. The envoy still maintained that the US had “very, very positive conversation” on the issue with both sides.
The interview with Witkoff came out shortly after he held face-to-face talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin as part of diplomatic efforts aimed at mediating an end to the conflict. After the talks, he suggested that a complete ceasefire between Kiev and Moscow could be reached within “a couple of weeks.”
My name is Steve Allen and I’m the publisher of ThinkAboutIt.news and ThinkAboutIt.online. Any controversial opinions in these articles are either mine alone or a guest author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. These articles may contain opinions on political matters, but are not intended to promote the candidacy of any particular political candidate. The material contained herein is for general information purposes only. Commenters are solely responsible for their own viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Steve Allen or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. Follow me on social media on Facebook and X, and sharing these articles with others is a great help. Thank you, Steve
Original Article by Didi Rankovic The anti-human globalists never quit. They will continue to use their money and power to take your free speech and rights away with every persistent effort they can. They want […]
The US Constitution currently states that a president can only serve two terms Betters consider US President Donald Trump one of the top picks to win the 2028 election, despite the two-term constitutional limit, Newsweek […]
Why has Yulia Timoshenko suddenly re-emerged in Ukraine? While international attention remains focused on the high-stakes negotiations involving Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump, and Vladimir Zelensky, Ukraine’s internal political theater continues to play out in full […]
Be the first to comment