President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday welcomed the deal made in Saudi Arabia on Monday creating a halt to hostilities in the Black Sea, but he openly fretted about comments made by US special envoy to Moscow, Steve Witkoff, to a Kremlin-friendly US journalist.
In an interview posted last week, fired Fox News personality Tucker Carlson, who gave Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin free reign in an interview last year to expound upon his propaganda, gave Witkoff the opportunity to parrot much the same.
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Witkoff said in the right-wing podcast that, “There’s a view within the country of Russia that these are Russian territories,” referring to the regions of Luhansk, Donetsk and other southern and eastern Ukrainian territories now occupied by Russian troops.
The comments were reminiscent of those of many others on Trump’s team, most notably those of the new Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, which closely resembled Moscow’s messaging on the more than three-year-old war.
Zelensky did not mince words when asked by a reporter Tuesday about Witkoff’s portrayal of the Ukrainian territories as Russian.
“A lot of the information spread by some people and the person you mentioned... are very much in line with the messages of the Kremlin,” Zelensky responded.
He reflected on the so-called referenda held by Russian authoriies in those territories, which were roundly condemned by international organizations as illegitimate.
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The negotiations also resulted in an agreement to impose a complete ban on strikes against the energy infrastructure of both Ukraine and Russia.
“No one can legitimize these referendums because they were held at gunpoint,” Zelensky said, adding that “no one recognizes these territories as Russian.”
Too early to say that they will work.
Volodymyr Zelensky
Zelensky also responded, at a Tuesday press conference, about details emerging from the US-Russia talks in Riyadh which would ensure safe navigation of commercial vessels through the Black Sea, condemning the use of force in such waters, and preventing commercial vessels from being used for military purposes, alongside control measures involving vessel inspections.
An earlier White House statement on the issue did not clearly state when such a halt would come into effect, or which restrictions would be lifted, and initial statements from Kyiv and Moscow showed apparent disagreements.
“These were the right meetings, the right decisions, the right steps. No one can accuse Ukraine of not moving towards sustainable peace after this,” Zelensky said about the talks’ outcome.
He cautioned however that it was “too early to say that it will work.”
Zelensky also criticized Washington’s decision to help restore Russia’s access to the world market for its agricultural goods, saying it was “weakening” the positions of allies. He added that Ukrainians would “do our job to implement the agreements,” though details needed to be ironed out.