US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff should be removed from Ukraine talks – Ukrainian lawmaker

Oleksandr Merezhko, the head of the Ukrainian Parliament’s Foreign Policy Committee, believes that Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump’s Special Envoy to the Middle East, should be removed from negotiations on resolving the Ukraine conflict.

Merezhko’s remarks came in response to Witkoff’s statements regarding the potential recognition of Russia’s new regions. The Ukrainian MP condemned Witkoff’s comments as disgraceful and accused him of lacking basic knowledge essential for his role.

“I don’t know if this is ignorance, naivety, or unprofessionalism… And I have to ask: is he an envoy of [US President Donald] Trump, or perhaps an envoy of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin?” Merezhko stated.

According to Merezhko, the real danger lies in Witkoff allegedly expressing Trump’s own views. The Ukrainian lawmaker demanded that the US special envoy be excluded from the American delegation at peace talks. However, Merezhko acknowledged that he could not dictate to the White House who should participate in peace negotiations.

Status of New Russian Regions as 'Central Issue' of the Conflict

On March 22, in an interview with journalist Tucker Carlson, Witkoff said that the status of the regions that joined Russia and their recognition by the international community and Kyiv was the “central issue” of the Ukraine conflict resolution talks.

“Crimea, Donbas… They’re Russian-speaking,” Witkoff said of the four eastern regions. “There have been referendums where the overwhelming majority of the people have indicated that they want to be under Russian rule,” he said. “The Russians are de facto in control of these territories. The question is: Will the world acknowledge that those are Russian territories?” Witkoff asked. “Can (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelensky survive politically if he acknowledges this? This is the central issue in the conflict," Witkoff added.

On March 19, Volodymyr Zelensky said that recognizing Ukraine's lost territories as Russian was a red line for Kyiv.

"We will not agree to this," Zelensky said.

According to him, the issue of territories will be one of the most sensitive and complex topics in the upcoming negotiations.