US envoy: Ukraine’s territorial concessions are ‘elephant in the room’ in peace talks

The biggest obstacle to ending Russia’s war in Ukraine is whether Ukraine will cede occupied territories, US special envoy Steve Witkoff has said.

In an interview with podcast host Tucker Carlson, Witkoff described the fate of Crimea and four mainland Ukrainian regions—Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson—as “the elephant in the room” in ongoing negotiations.

The regions were illegally annexed by Russia following its 2022 invasion, and Kyiv firmly rejects surrendering them. However, Witkoff cited Russian-staged referendums as evidence that the regions want to join Russia.

“They’re Russian-speaking. There have been referendums where the overwhelming majority of the people have indicated that they want to be under Russian rule,” Witkoff claimed.

Ukraine and its Western allies denounced those referendums as illegitimate, with reports of forced voting at gunpoint.

Witkoff, Trump’s Middle East envoy who is also involved in Ukraine negotiations, said that constitutional limits within Ukraine on territorial concessions were prolonging the war.

Talks between US, Russian, and Ukrainian officials are set to resume Monday in Saudi Arabia.

“The Russians are de facto in control of these territories. The question is: Will the world acknowledge that those are Russian territories?” Witkoff asked.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has reaffirmed that Ukraine “does not recognize the occupied Ukrainian territories as Russian.”

He acknowledged that the US raised the issue in prior talks but stressed that it should be addressed in later peace negotiations rather than initial ceasefire discussions.

Witkoff praised Russian President Vladimir Putin, describing him as “smart” and “gracious.” He recalled being warned about Putin’s past in the KGB but dismissed concerns, calling the Russian leader “super smart.”

He also revealed that Putin had a Russian artist paint a portrait of Donald Trump and sent it as a gift.

Following an assassination attempt against Trump last September, Putin reportedly told Witkoff that he “prayed for Trump” in a local church.

Witkoff hinted that resolving the Ukraine conflict could lead to broader cooperation between the US and Russia, including joint energy policies in the Arctic, shared sea routes, and liquefied natural gas exports to Europe.

“Who doesn’t want to have a world where Russia and the United States are doing, collaboratively, good things together?” he said.

Credit: BBC