Ukraine is discussing unconditional ceasefire with U.S., but territorial issues are off table – Zelenskyy
Statements by US Special Representative Steve Witkoff on the status of five Ukrainian territories are "a reflection of Russian propaganda."
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this during a briefing for journalists, Censor.NET reports.
According to him, Witkoff has adopted the strategy of the Russian side.
"[Witkoff] is consciously or unconsciously repeating Russian narratives. That is harmful," Zelensky said.
The President emphasized that Ukraine will never recognize the temporarily occupied territories as Russian, and that this position remains unchanged.
"We are currently discussing an unconditional ceasefire, and until that happens, we are not discussing territories... I don’t see any mandate for him (Witkoff – ed.) to negotiate over Ukrainian territory, because these are our territories. So I don’t understand what he’s talking about. We’ve heard all this before – it’s the same nonsense we heard from Putin. I didn’t think he had people who would go around spreading these narratives in other civilized countries. That’s why I don’t take it seriously," the President stated.
To recap, after his visit to Moscow, Witkoff said that a peace agreement on Ukraine would include a settlement of the "five territories" issue.
