WASHINGTON – Senior White House adviser and assistant to President Steve Witkov instructed Breitbart News he hopes Ukrainian President Voldymir Zelensky and Russian President Ukrainian Putin will meet in particular person to barter the tip of the struggle in Ukraine.
“I hope so,” Witkoff instructed Breitbart News when requested in a prolonged digicam interview final week on the White House, filmed early Thursday afternoon, if such a summit may occur anytime quickly.
Witkov has supplied to mediate such conversations, and for the reason that interview was filmed, Russians and Ukrainians had lengthy deliberate days of ceasefires for a number of days, however there have additionally been stories this week suggesting the potential for a summit in Turkey.
President Donald Trump, together with Witkov, is on his approach to the Middle East for a sequence of conferences in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. However, the President (or Witkov) is straightforward to interrupt away from that journey to go to Istanbul for such a gathering, if the report is true. The interviews had been recorded earlier than these stories emerged, however seem to counsel that there could also be one thing to them.
“I feel that is fully doable,” Witkov instructed Breitbart News about the potential for the Zelensky Putin Peace Summit. “If the US was pulled again from this battle, in different phrases, it isn’t my struggle, I’d tried to do my greatest. I feel it is a dangerous final result for everybody. It’s dangerous for Europeans. I do not suppose it is good for Russians. The different to a peaceable resolution right here is that is our job.”
Witkov additionally instructed Breitbart News that struggle was a “foolish struggle” and “should have to occur” and that it will not have occurred if Trump had been within the White House when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. However, as a result of Democrat Joe Biden was president on the time, the struggle went on and has been happening for greater than three years since. Trump pledged to finish the struggle through the 2024 marketing campaign, and he’s actively negotiating with Witkov, working as one of many prime envoys on either side. In addition to Witkov, the president despatched Vice President J.D. Vance Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent, and Secretary of Defense (and lots of others too) to finish the battle without delay.
“The president stated, and we consider what he stated, it is a silly struggle. It did not should occur,” Witkov instructed Breitbart News. “If there have been no false elections and it will not have occurred if it had been the president, so I feel we’ve got to place everybody within the room. The resolution works when there’s a direct dialog. You have to deliver the Ukrainians and Russians to the identical desk. Now, this was a vicious struggle. If you consider within the enchancment of your society to finish this struggle, you need it too, and we’ve got supplied to bodily spend your time only for us to counsel.
Witkoff stated Trump “issued the final word” to 2 political events.
“The President has issued an ultimatum to either side that he believes that with out these in particular person and if they don’t occur quickly, what the United States means from this battle and that it ought to retreat from this battle, even when it’s not concerned,” Witkoff stated. “This is what we need to mediate. It’s not our struggle. We did not begin a struggle, however we need to assist it finish. The approach that occurs is a ceasefire – everybody will cease the violence and we are going to spend a little bit of time attempting to take care of the principle points right here.”
The remaining main points embrace particulars on the territory of Ukraine, a serious nuclear energy plant at present on offline, and Ukraine’s entry to vital waterways.
“I feel the principle concern right here is the area, the nuclear energy crops. I feel it is the best way Ukrainians use the Dnieper River to get out into the ocean,” Witkov stated. “There’s one thing right here that I do not suppose we’re narrowing down the problems between them and serious about compromises and inventive options to deal with every of our considerations. We bodily obtain.
Asked in a follow-up query about these remaining points, Witkov additional defined that Ukraine has 5 areas at present dealing with challenges between the 2 points. He additionally stated that Zaporilla, an offline nuclear energy plant, is “slightly little bit of the crown jewel” as how a lot electrical energy it could produce is a “large a part of this debate.” Furthermore, how waterways and the way Ukraine entry the Black Sea (the connection to the Mediterranean Sea) are vital.
“I feel we did loads to slender down the issue,” Witkoff stated. “The details of attachment are in 5 areas. Russia has overwhelming management of the 2 areas. The Ukrainians have some management over the opposite three areas. So there are variations in the place the battle line is, the place the troops are, and the executive line. Russia is doing the identical factor as sure directors. But I feel a part of the issue is that we had been unable to let each events sit on the desk collectively.”
Witkov spoke with each Top Ukrainians and Top Russians as certainly one of Trump’s prime envoys to barter options and finish the struggle. He took some Flaks for a latest assembly with Putin, however he’s assured he did the precise factor to try this on the president’s route and is happy with his conversations with all of the gamers he’s concerned.
“I spoke to each – on either side as a result of, except you are speaking to everybody, how one can be concerned in mediating or crafting an answer,” Witkoff stated. “I spoke with Andry Jamack. I spoke with President Zelensky. I spoke with their Defense Minister and Mr Umerov. We are actually good. We have a optimistic dialogue, a optimistic relationship. I spoke with all of the nationwide safety advisers concerned from the UK, from France, from Germany, and Italy. to President Putin is by some means one thing persons are in opposition to, I do not perceive that logic. We want to speak to all people. Any stakeholders on this battle, we’ve got to have a dialog with them — and we won’t settle for one other particular person’s model of what they suppose. We have to listen to It for ourselves. That’s the way you get to an answer. You put your self of their sneakers, you perceive what they want, and now can we accommodate that? Can we impact these kinds of compromises? That occurs from figuring out the opposite particular person. “