Donald Trump‘s Middle East envoy and key peace negotiator has mocked Keir Starmer‘s peacekeeping plan for Ukraine as ‘Churchill-like posing’ and praised Putin as ‘super-smart’.
Steve Witkoff, 68, criticised Britain and France‘s plan to send peacekeepers to Ukraine in order to prevent another Russian invasion if a ceasefire agreement is made.
The envoy, who is a billionaire property developer with no diplomatic experience, said: ‘I think there’s this sort of notion of, we’ve all got to be like.’
Speaking to former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson on his YouTube channel, Mr Witkoff said peace could be achieved through diplomacy instead of fighting to the end.
He has been representing the US in visits to Moscow as part of Mr Trump’s efforts to agree a ceasefire in Ukraine.
One of Mr Witkoff’s key beliefs is that Putin has got what he wanted in Ukraine.
He said he thought it was ‘preposterous’ that Putin wanted to ‘march across Europe’ – despite the Russian leader saying he wanted to do exactly that.
Steve Witkoff, 68, criticised Britain and France ‘s plan to send peacekeepers to Ukraine in order to prevent another Russian invasion if a ceasefire agreement is made
Donald Trump ‘s Middle East envoy and key peace negotiator has mocked Keir Starmer ‘s peacekeeping plan for Ukraine as ‘Churchill-like posing’ and praised Putin as ‘super-smart’
Emmanuel Macron, Sir Keir Starmer and Volodymyr Zelensky and other officials attend the European leaders’ summit to discuss European security and Ukraine, at Lancaster House in London on March 2
Ukrainian rescuers working at the site of an overnight drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 23 amid the ongoing Russian invasion
Putin has said he wishes to bring back the Russian Empire and roll back Nato from Eastern Europe to return Moscow’s influence to the Soviet-era.
Despite this, Witkoff said: ‘Why would they want to absorb Ukraine? For what purpose? They don’t need to absorb Ukraine.
‘They’ve gotten, they’ve reclaimed these five regions. They have Crimea, and they’ve gotten what they want. So why do they need more?
‘Putin is a very smart guy… He’s a super smart guy.’
Mr Witkoff describing Russia ‘reclaiming’ five regions is incorrect as they are in fact part of Ukraine.
Putin’s armies do not fully control the five entire regions as they were halted in their tracks by the Ukrainian army in Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Kherson.
Mr Witkoff floundered even just trying to name the Russian-occupied districts during the interview.
He also said the regions were ‘Russian-speaking’ and that ‘there have been referendums where the majority of the people have indicated that they want to be under Russian rule’.
His comment refers to Kremlin-organised votes six months after Russia‘s invasion in 2022, not recognised by Western countries and denounced as a sham.
Ukrainian soldiers have held off the Russian army by pioneering drone warfare and killing up to 250,000 of Putin’s men.
Trump’s envoy praised Putin and even told Tucker Carlson he ‘liked’ the Russian leader.
‘I don’t regard Putin as a bad guy. He’s super smart,’ he said.
After meeting him just 10 days ago, Mr Witkoff said Putin had been ‘gracious’ and ‘straight up’ with him.
He said the Russian president told him he had prayed for Trump after his assassination attempt last year.
