Witkoff Says Putin Has Been Transparent in Talks on Ukraine

(MENAFN) Steve Witkoff, serving as special envoy to Donald Trump, has stated that his discussions with Vladimir Putin have consistently been transparent, particularly regarding Moscow’s objectives and boundaries in the Ukraine war. He emphasized that any meaningful progress toward resolving the conflict depends on a firm grasp of Russia’s stance.

Speaking during a televised interview on Saturday, Witkoff described his repeated engagements with the Russian president as substantive and necessary. “He’s never been anything other than straight with me,” he said. “I say that and I get attacked, but that’s an accurate statement.”

According to his remarks, Putin has openly communicated the limits Russia is unwilling to cross, underscoring what Witkoff characterized as the importance of mutual comprehension in diplomatic negotiations. He suggested that without understanding the other party’s strategic intentions and underlying drivers, reaching an agreement would be unrealistic. “I got attacked for meeting him eight times,” he noted. “How can you make a deal without knowing where the other side is coming from? I needed to understand his motivations and goals.”

Witkoff also pointed to the possibility of direct engagement between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He expressed optimism that proposals already presented to both parties could help pave the way for talks in the near future. “I hope that we’ve put some proposals on the table to both sides that will bring them together in the next three weeks,” Witkoff said, adding that the format “might end up being a trilateral at some point with the President [Trump].”

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