Trump’s special envoy Witkoff praises ‘super smart’ Putin ahead of Ukraine ceasefire talks

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Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, praised Russian President Vladimir Putin as “super smart” because talks about a ceasefire in Ukraine in Saudi Arabia are underway.

Prior to Sunday’s discussions in Riyadh, Mr. Witkoff – a former real estate mogul dedicated by Lord Trump with the leading negotiations on Ukraine’s future – Thursday with Mr. Putin in Moscow meets for discussions on the termination of the war.

Mr. Witkoff spoke to the right -wing commentator Tucker Carlson in an interview that aired on Friday, saying that he was “holding” the Russian president, whom he described as “merciful”. He added: “I don’t consider Putin a bad guy. He’s super smart. ‘

The American envoy of the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, attends an interview in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, (Ap)

In remarks that will do little to the European fear that the White House Kremlin propaganda is increasingly parroting, the Mr. Witkoff is the ‘elephant in the room’ in peace talks whether the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, can recognize the Moscow’s right to the crease and four ‘Russian-speaking’ in the Eastern Ukraine.

In spite of the fact that he does not have two of the four continental regions – which Mr. Putin partially occupied, and tried to annexed the Sham -referenda in September 2022 – and to use the Russian name for a third, Mr. Witkoff said he believes that the ‘central issue’ was in the conflict or Ukraine would give control of them to Moscow.

The allegation of an ‘overwhelming majority’ of residents in the disputed regions indicated that he had a preference for Russian rule, despite reports that ballots were thrown at a gun point. Witkoff continued to claim that ‘the Russians are de facto in charge of these areas’.

Many thousands of Ukrainians have given their lives since 2014 to defend territory in Donetsk and Luhansk, and in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson since Russia’s full -scale invasion three years ago. While Moscow is currently controlling most of Donetsk and Luhansk, they hold a minimal area in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, with a fierce fight that is still going on in all four regions.

Follow our Ukraine blog for the latest updates

The remarks of Mr. Witkoff came shortly before the Ukrainian delegates traveled to Riyadh on Sunday for talks with US officials, with Russian representatives following on Monday in separate talks in the first such parallel negotiations since the early days of the full invasion of Russia.

The Kremlin said on Sunday that Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin may have held more than the two phone calls announced in public in recent months (AFP/Getty)

The Kremlin said its main focus in Riyadh would be a resumption of the On-Broker Shipment Agreement in the Black Sea, which unilaterally drew Russia from months after it was beaten in July 2022.

Mr. Witkoff said he believes that Mr. Putin ‘wants:’ I think you will see in Saudi Arabia on Monday, especially as it affects a ceasefire of the black sea on ships between both countries.

“And from there will of course draw you into a plenty of ceasefire.”

In contrast, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov warned on Sunday that the progress of an agreement was unlikely, as it was ‘only the beginning’ of what ‘difficult’ negotiations would be.

Mr. Witkoff said: “I just see that he wants to take the whole of Europe, has the concern of Washington’s NATO allies that Mr. Putin simply will use any ceasefire to start further attacks on Ukraine and its neighbors. This is a very different situation than in World War II. ‘

Firefighters set out a flame after a Russian drone hit an apartment during an attack that killed seven people in Kyiv on Sunday (Ap)

In another battle for European allies, he criticized British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s plan for a ‘coalition of the willing’ to provide military security guarantees for Kyiv under any peace agreement as ‘an attitude and an attitude’.

Mr. Witkoff criticized the plan – which quickly excelled through European leaders in response to the dramatic withdrawal of the Trump administration – as based on a ‘simplistic’ idea to think ‘we should all be like Winston Churchill’.

When the US guided talks were underway in Riyadh on Sunday, Washington officials told Bloomberg that Mr. Trump wants to strive by a peace agreement in Ukraine by April 20, a symbolic date on which the Western and Orthodox churches will celebrate Easter this year.

After a phone call last week, Mr. Putin and Mr. Trump agreed that the movement to peace will begin with a 30-day break in attacks on Russian and Ukrainian energy facilities, the White House said.

But that closely defined ceasefire was quickly called into question, with Kyiv accusing Moscow of bombarding his own oil depot in Koursk to undermine the agreement, while also beating hospitals and homes in Ukraine and knocking out the power to some railways.

Just hours before the talks in Saudi Arabia began, Ukrainian officials said Russia had killed seven people, including a five-year-old child-in overnight strikes at Kyiv, and four people in Donetsk.

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