“Is he Trump’s envoy or Putin’s?” Ukraine lawmaker calls for Witkoff’s dismissal after Russia remarks

Mar 24, 2025 - 18:00

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US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, who leads the ceasefire negotiations between Ukraine, the US, and Russia, should be removed from his position due to his pro-Russian remarks, says Oleksandr Merezhko, head of the Ukrainian Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Sky News reports.

Earlier, in an interview with American propagandist Tucker Carlson, Witkoff shared his views on the war’s “root cause.” He said that Russia doesn’t see Ukraine as a real country and that Moscow “de facto” controls the Ukrainian territories under the occupation but failed to correctly name all of the regions in question. He also agreed with Carlson’s claim that Former Prime Minister of the Soviet Union Nikita Khrushchev made these regions part of Ukraine because he was Ukrainian.

No, Tucker, Khrushchev isn’t Ukrainian and you really need to take history class

Responding to Witkoff’s comment that the war was rooted in the Kremlin’s belief that Ukraine is a “false country,” Merezhko stressed that the US envoy is simply repeating Putin’s propaganda.

“Is he an envoy of President Trump or… Putin’s envoy?” he asked.

Merezhko said that Witkoff “should be removed as a representative of Trump because he discredits the United States and the US foreign policy”.

He added that President Trump should at least take decisive action—he must disavow these statements because they are dangerous.

Merezhko also noted that “in the entourage of Mr Trump, there are different people – those who understand what’s going on and those who don’t understand,” implying that Witkoff belongs to the latter.

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