Zelenskyy sharply reminds Witkoff who has right to speak about Ukraine's territories
Photo: President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Vitalii Nosach / RBC-Ukraine)
Ukraine is a sovereign state, and all territories belong only to it. Therefore, it is unacceptable for Ukraine to recognize temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories as Russian in exchange for a peace agreement, states President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, commenting on the recent words of US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.
Zelenskyy emphasized that "the relevant representatives" (Witkoff – ed.) are discussing matters beyond their competence. After all, only Ukraine can decide the fate of its territories.
"Ukraine is a sovereign state, and all territories belong to the unitary state of Ukraine. Therefore, once again, only the people of Ukraine can speak about the territories of our state. And you know that for us, it is a red line to recognize any temporarily occupied territories as anything other than Ukrainian, and particularly as Russian," said the president.
In turn, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, commenting on the progress of negotiations regarding Russia's war against Ukraine, stated that he welcomes the efforts of the administration of US President Donald Trump. However, the high-ranking official emphasized that he would not comment on the interim stages of the negotiations.
It was mentioned by Rutte that all the assistance that could be provided is being given, but at the interim stages, no comments would be made.
Statement by Witkoff on territories
On April 11, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Witkoff described the negotiations with the Kremlin leader as "convincing" and stated that they discussed "steps that could end the war in Ukraine."
In particular, the special envoy emphasized that the "key" to ending the war in Ukraine is the so-called "five territories." However, he did not provide any details.
"I mean this peace deal is about the so-called five territories, but there’s so much more to it. There are security protocols. There is no NATO, Article 5. You know, a lot of details attached. It’s a complicated situation rooted in some problematic things happening between the two countries," he added.
As Reuters reported, Witkoff later told US President Donald Trump that the quickest path to peace in Ukraine would supposedly involve granting Russia ownership of four eastern Ukrainian regions.
