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Steve Witkoff unmasks as an emissary and shill for Putin, not a negotiator in good faith
A couple of days ago, Trump's old real estate-hawking pal and envoy to Russia, Steve Witkoff, was interviewed by Tucker Carlson. Among its revelations was the fact that Witkoff sees his role more as Russian envoy to the rest of the world rather than US envoy to Russia, with a heavy emphasis on running PR for Putin.
The whole interview (all 90 minutes of it - it also covered the conflict in Israel, not offering much comfort there either) is easy to find on YouTube etc., and various snippets have also been posted focusing on different aspects. There's a lot to cover, much of it startling even allowing for the sensationalism of YouTube titles. Here are a few:
A number of outlets have tried to summarize the disinformation Witkoff spouted while Carlson sagely nodded along in an "everybody knows this" sort of style. So much he said was plain mindbogglingly wrong or very much almost word-for-word the Kremlin line that it's hard to excerpt the articles and stay within DU's copyright limits, but here are a few samples for flavour (if you click through any of them, they'll give more background):
Trump envoy dismisses Starmer plan for Ukraine
...
Witkoff, who met Putin 10 days ago, said the Russian president had been "gracious" and "straight up" with him. Putin told him, he added, that he had prayed for Trump after an assassination attempt against him last year. He also said Putin had commissioned a portrait of the US president as a gift and Trump was "clearly touched by it".
During the interview, Witkoff repeated various Russian arguments, including that Ukraine was "a false country" and asked when the world would recognise occupied Ukrainian territory as Russian.
Witkoff is leading the US ceasefire negotiations with both Russia and Ukraine but he was unable to name the five regions of Ukraine either annexed or partially occupied by Russian forces.
He said: "The largest issue in that conflict are these so-called four regions, Donbas, Crimea, you know the names and there are two others."
The five regions - or oblasts - are Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Crimea. Donbas refers to an industrial region in the east that includes much of Luhansk and Donetsk.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c62zm4eqvp7o
...
Witkoff, who met Putin 10 days ago, said the Russian president had been "gracious" and "straight up" with him. Putin told him, he added, that he had prayed for Trump after an assassination attempt against him last year. He also said Putin had commissioned a portrait of the US president as a gift and Trump was "clearly touched by it".
During the interview, Witkoff repeated various Russian arguments, including that Ukraine was "a false country" and asked when the world would recognise occupied Ukrainian territory as Russian.
Witkoff is leading the US ceasefire negotiations with both Russia and Ukraine but he was unable to name the five regions of Ukraine either annexed or partially occupied by Russian forces.
He said: "The largest issue in that conflict are these so-called four regions, Donbas, Crimea, you know the names and there are two others."
The five regions - or oblasts - are Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Crimea. Donbas refers to an industrial region in the east that includes much of Luhansk and Donetsk.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c62zm4eqvp7o
'They are Russian-speaking, and there have been referendums,' — Witkoff parrots Russian propaganda, legitimizing Putin's claims in Ukraine
...
Following the start of Russia's all-out war, Moscow occupied parts of Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts in 2022 by killing thousands of people and destroying cities and towns.
The same happened in Ukraine's east, where Russia further advanced in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, a portion of which it held since 2014.
In September 2022, Russia annexed the four Ukrainian oblasts following sham referendums at gunpoint rejected by the international community as null and void. In videos published online, the vote was secured by the Russian military and under duress.
In the occupied regions, Russian forces systemically terrorized Ukrainian civilians with abductions and killings, committing war crimes such as rape and torture. Russia continues to consistently erase people's Ukrainian identity and prosecutes opponents of enforced Russification while also forcibly conscripting men to fight in the Russian army.
Ukraine continues to control regional capitals Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, with the later being liberated in November 2022. Following the liberation of the regional capital, thousands of people took to the streets in celebration, while thousands of others who were forced to leave were able to return home.
Dispatch from Kherson: Celebrating locals share stories, welcome Zelensky
On the liberated territories, a number of Russian torture chambers were found.
Equating Ukrainian Russian speakers to Russians who support the war and using language as a way to justify its war against Ukraine is a common theme of Russian propaganda.
https://kyivindependent.com/i-dont-regard-putin-as-a-bad-guy-witkoff-says-on-negotiations-with-russia/
...
Following the start of Russia's all-out war, Moscow occupied parts of Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts in 2022 by killing thousands of people and destroying cities and towns.
The same happened in Ukraine's east, where Russia further advanced in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, a portion of which it held since 2014.
In September 2022, Russia annexed the four Ukrainian oblasts following sham referendums at gunpoint rejected by the international community as null and void. In videos published online, the vote was secured by the Russian military and under duress.
In the occupied regions, Russian forces systemically terrorized Ukrainian civilians with abductions and killings, committing war crimes such as rape and torture. Russia continues to consistently erase people's Ukrainian identity and prosecutes opponents of enforced Russification while also forcibly conscripting men to fight in the Russian army.
Ukraine continues to control regional capitals Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, with the later being liberated in November 2022. Following the liberation of the regional capital, thousands of people took to the streets in celebration, while thousands of others who were forced to leave were able to return home.
Dispatch from Kherson: Celebrating locals share stories, welcome Zelensky
On the liberated territories, a number of Russian torture chambers were found.
Equating Ukrainian Russian speakers to Russians who support the war and using language as a way to justify its war against Ukraine is a common theme of Russian propaganda.
https://kyivindependent.com/i-dont-regard-putin-as-a-bad-guy-witkoff-says-on-negotiations-with-russia/
Trump envoy claims Ukraine ‘agreed’ to hold presidential elections
In interview with Tucker Carlson, Steve Witkoff also says it is “largely accepted” that NATO membership for Ukraine is not an option.
U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff asserted that Kyiv has "agreed" to organize presidential elections in Ukraine, without providing details or evidence backing his claim.
In an interview with former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson that aired late Friday, Witkoff stated that "there will be elections in Ukraine," adding the war-torn country's leadership had "agreed to it."
The Trump administration has been ramping up pressure to force Ukraine's hand into organizing a wartime election, which the country is constitutionally barred from doing.
The American president has described his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as a "dictator without elections" — an assertion aligned with Russian-backed narratives that have sought to undermine the legitimacy of Ukraine's leadership.
Critics say wartime elections would expose Ukraine to Russia's destabilization tactics and be a logistical nightmare to organize in a country defending itself from an all-out invasion.
https://www.politico.eu/article/trump-envoy-claims-ukraine-agreed-to-hold-presidential-elections/
In interview with Tucker Carlson, Steve Witkoff also says it is “largely accepted” that NATO membership for Ukraine is not an option.
U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff asserted that Kyiv has "agreed" to organize presidential elections in Ukraine, without providing details or evidence backing his claim.
In an interview with former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson that aired late Friday, Witkoff stated that "there will be elections in Ukraine," adding the war-torn country's leadership had "agreed to it."
The Trump administration has been ramping up pressure to force Ukraine's hand into organizing a wartime election, which the country is constitutionally barred from doing.
The American president has described his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as a "dictator without elections" — an assertion aligned with Russian-backed narratives that have sought to undermine the legitimacy of Ukraine's leadership.
Critics say wartime elections would expose Ukraine to Russia's destabilization tactics and be a logistical nightmare to organize in a country defending itself from an all-out invasion.
https://www.politico.eu/article/trump-envoy-claims-ukraine-agreed-to-hold-presidential-elections/
Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump envoy Witkoff praises Putin as US ceasefire talks resume in Saudi Arabia
Steve Witkoff told right-wing journalist Tucker Carlson: "I don't regard Putin as a bad guy. He's super smart."
Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff has praised Vladimir Putin, saying he “liked” the Russian president ahead of upcoming US-brokered ceasefire discussions.
In an interview with pro-Trump journalist Tucker Carlson, Steve Witkoff said: "I don't regard Putin as a bad guy. He's super smart."
He also dismissed Sir Keir Starmer’s plan for an international force which could include British troops to support a ceasefire in Ukraine as “a posture and a pose”.
It comes as at least seven people have been killed, including a five-year-old child, after Russia launched a barrage of drones targeting Kyiv overnight on Sunday, according to local Ukrainian officials.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-russia-war-trump-putin-zelensky-drones-ceasefire-latest-news-b2720023.html
Steve Witkoff told right-wing journalist Tucker Carlson: "I don't regard Putin as a bad guy. He's super smart."
Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff has praised Vladimir Putin, saying he “liked” the Russian president ahead of upcoming US-brokered ceasefire discussions.
In an interview with pro-Trump journalist Tucker Carlson, Steve Witkoff said: "I don't regard Putin as a bad guy. He's super smart."
He also dismissed Sir Keir Starmer’s plan for an international force which could include British troops to support a ceasefire in Ukraine as “a posture and a pose”.
It comes as at least seven people have been killed, including a five-year-old child, after Russia launched a barrage of drones targeting Kyiv overnight on Sunday, according to local Ukrainian officials.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-russia-war-trump-putin-zelensky-drones-ceasefire-latest-news-b2720023.html
And this is from the UK's Daily Mail, of all outlets:
MPs' outrage over 'out of his depth' Donald Trump envoy who 'regurgitates Putin propaganda' about Ukraine - as Brit politicians brand him a 'disgrace'
In an interview with ex-Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson, Mr Witkoff floundered trying to name the Russian-occupied districts of Ukraine – Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Luhansk.
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.
Last night cross-party politicians responded with fury.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14527311/MPs-outrage-Donald-Trump-envoy-Putin-propaganda.html
In an interview with ex-Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson, Mr Witkoff floundered trying to name the Russian-occupied districts of Ukraine – Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Luhansk.
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.
Last night cross-party politicians responded with fury.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14527311/MPs-outrage-Donald-Trump-envoy-Putin-propaganda.html
There have also obviously been reactions across social media. This tweet sums everything up quite pithily:
Yaroslav Trofimov
@yarotrof
It’s clear from this that the only difference between Steve Witkoff’s and Vladmir Putin’s views on the war in Ukraine is that Putin actually knows the names of all the five Ukrainian regions he wants to keep.
@yarotrof
It’s clear from this that the only difference between Steve Witkoff’s and Vladmir Putin’s views on the war in Ukraine is that Putin actually knows the names of all the five Ukrainian regions he wants to keep.
The Institute for the Study of War's response on Twitter was a bit longer:
Institute for the Study of War
@TheStudyofWar
Witkoff uncritically repeated several inaccurate Russian claims regarding the status of the Ukrainian territories that Russia illegally occupies. ⬇️
1/3)
1/ The Russian invasions of Ukraine have never been about protecting Russian speakers. Witkoff claimed during the March 21 interview that Russian-occupied Crimea, Donbas, and Kherson and Zaporizhia oblasts are "Russian-speaking" and that "there have been referendums [in these regions] where the overwhelming majority of people have indicated that they want to be under Russian rule."
Russia has long used similar claims to justify its unprovoked aggression against Ukraine, having used the claim that Russia needs to "protect Russian-speakers" in eastern Ukraine to justify the launch of its full-scale invasion in 2022.
Russia has routinely undermined its own myth of "protecting Russian speakers" in Ukraine, however, destroying predominantly Russian-speaking cities in eastern Ukraine, killing Russian-speaking Ukrainians, and deporting Russian-speaking Ukrainian children to Russia in violation of international law.
2/ The assertion that the "overwhelming majority" of Ukrainians living under Russian occupation want to be under Russian control is also demonstrably false.
Russian manipulations and coercive control tactics in occupied Ukraine are inconsistent with the claim that all residents of occupied Ukraine "want" to be part of Russia.
Russia staged sham referendums in Crimea and parts of Donbas in 2014 and then in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson oblasts in 2022 in an attempt to claim that most of the population "voted" to be annexed by Russia.
3/ Russian demographic manipulations and mass indoctrination in occupied Ukraine are also at odds with the claim that Ukrainians living under occupation want to be under Russian control.
Russia has also embarked on a state-directed effort to deport Ukrainians from occupied Ukraine and to import Russians to live in occupied Ukraine, using manipulated demographic data to create the impression that there are more people willingly living in occupied areas. Russia would not have to forcibly deport millions of Ukrainians to Russia if these Ukrainians actually wanted to be part of Russia.
Threadreader version: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1903596388036018658.html
@TheStudyofWar
Witkoff uncritically repeated several inaccurate Russian claims regarding the status of the Ukrainian territories that Russia illegally occupies. ⬇️
1/3)
1/ The Russian invasions of Ukraine have never been about protecting Russian speakers. Witkoff claimed during the March 21 interview that Russian-occupied Crimea, Donbas, and Kherson and Zaporizhia oblasts are "Russian-speaking" and that "there have been referendums [in these regions] where the overwhelming majority of people have indicated that they want to be under Russian rule."
Russia has long used similar claims to justify its unprovoked aggression against Ukraine, having used the claim that Russia needs to "protect Russian-speakers" in eastern Ukraine to justify the launch of its full-scale invasion in 2022.
Russia has routinely undermined its own myth of "protecting Russian speakers" in Ukraine, however, destroying predominantly Russian-speaking cities in eastern Ukraine, killing Russian-speaking Ukrainians, and deporting Russian-speaking Ukrainian children to Russia in violation of international law.
2/ The assertion that the "overwhelming majority" of Ukrainians living under Russian occupation want to be under Russian control is also demonstrably false.
Russian manipulations and coercive control tactics in occupied Ukraine are inconsistent with the claim that all residents of occupied Ukraine "want" to be part of Russia.
Russia staged sham referendums in Crimea and parts of Donbas in 2014 and then in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson oblasts in 2022 in an attempt to claim that most of the population "voted" to be annexed by Russia.
3/ Russian demographic manipulations and mass indoctrination in occupied Ukraine are also at odds with the claim that Ukrainians living under occupation want to be under Russian control.
Russia has also embarked on a state-directed effort to deport Ukrainians from occupied Ukraine and to import Russians to live in occupied Ukraine, using manipulated demographic data to create the impression that there are more people willingly living in occupied areas. Russia would not have to forcibly deport millions of Ukrainians to Russia if these Ukrainians actually wanted to be part of Russia.
Threadreader version: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1903596388036018658.html
Who on Earth would want Witkoff in their corner supposedly batting for them? If he's more blatant than Trump, it's because he can formulate whole-sounding sentences, even if those sentences are total bollocks or intended to deceive.
A few days ago, Witkoff claimed he had been duped by Hamas, not noted for being the subtlest of operators. Against a wily maniac like Putin, what the hell chance does anyone who depends on him have?
This disgraceful interview should disbar Witkoff, if not the whole US administration, from having any role whatsoever in "negotiating" between Russia and Ukraine. Let him negotiate between Russia and the US if he must fill his time somehow, and pray he doesn't get ripped off too badly by Putin.
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