Zelenskyy comments on Trump's Special Envoy Witkoff
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine (photo: Getty Images)
US President's Special Envoy Steve Witkoff frequently quotes Russian narratives. This will not bring peace and will also weaken American pressure on Russia, states Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
"I believe that Witkoff indeed very frequently quotes Kremlin narratives. I agree with you. I believe this won't bring us closer to peace. And I believe that, unfortunately, this would weaken the pressure that Americans apply to the Russian Federation. We can only correct this information field through our actions. We are trying to do that," said the president in an interview with Eurovision News.
Zelenskyy added that he had communicated with US President Donald Trump multiple times, and they exchanged real intelligence information at the intelligence level, as Witkoff's statements are very problematic for us.
"Because we are fighting against Putin, and we really don't want him to have any assistors," explained the president.
He emphasized that if the US has decided to be in the middle, it should stay that way, but not closer to the Kremlin.
"I've always said to President Trump, we want the Americans to be on our side. And even if America today has chosen the tactic to be in the middle, then in the middle means being in the middle, not closer to the Kremlin," Zelenskyy concluded.
Zelenskyy's separate reaction to Witkoff's statement
Zelenskyy also separately noted in a conversation with journalists that Witkoff's statement about the so-called referendums in the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine aligns with Kremlin messaging. Specifically, he was referring to the recent remarks by Trump's special envoy, who claimed that Donbas, Crimea, Luhansk, and two other regions (Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions) are allegedly Russian-speaking and that referendums were held there in which the majority of people expressed their desire to be under Russian rule.
Zelenskyy responded to the claim by stating that everyone knew there were no real legal grounds to conduct the referendums. He added that no one could legitimize them since they were held under duress. He also pointed out the presence of "dead souls" and substantial evidence revealing who voted and who did not. He emphasized that it was clear the referendums were not legitimate and that no one in the world would recognize them.
