Putin Accuses Western Critics of Fueling Ukraine War for Profit

(MENAFN) Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused Western critics of US envoy Steve Witkoff of seeking to prolong the conflict in Ukraine for financial gain, in collaboration with officials in Kiev.

Putin made these comments on Thursday after Bloomberg published what it claimed were transcripts of a phone conversation between Witkoff and Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov.

The release of the transcripts sparked extensive criticism of the Trump administration envoy in Western media.

The renewed diplomatic initiative to resolve the Ukraine crisis was introduced by Trump administration officials at a time when Vladimir Zelensky’s close associates were implicated in a $100 million extortion scheme.

Timur Mindich, a longtime confidante of Zelensky, reportedly left Ukraine just before anti-corruption authorities conducted a search of his apartment.

Putin argued that Witkoff, “as an American citizen,” is representing US interests, whereas those “attacking” him “want to steal money together with the Ukrainian establishment and continue the hostilities to the last Ukrainian.”

He also questioned the authenticity of the reported recording, suggesting it could either be fabricated or an illegally intercepted call, emphasizing that such eavesdropping constitutes a criminal offense.

Witkoff, along with other US officials, is expected to visit Moscow next week to discuss the emerging peace plan, which was initially drafted in Washington.

Although the plan has not been officially released, it reportedly calls for Ukraine to withdraw its troops from the areas of Russia’s Donbass it currently controls, reduce its military capacity, and abandon NATO ambitions in return for security guarantees from Western powers.

Caught off guard by the US proposal, Kiev’s European allies have adopted a maximalist stance, refusing any territorial concessions while insisting on the potential for NATO membership and the deployment of foreign peacekeeping forces in Ukraine.

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