During negotiations at the White House, Steve Witkoff, the U.S. Ambassador at Large and Special Envoy to the Middle East, pressured Ukraine to cede the Donetsk region to the Russian Federation.
According to Ukrinform, this was reported by The Washington Post.
“Trump envoy Steve Witkoff pressed the Ukrainian delegation about handing over Donetsk during the meeting Friday, noting that the region is mostly Russian-speaking, a frequent Kremlin talking point that Ukrainian and European officials view as sympathetic to Russia’s demands,” the report reads.
The issue was discussed at the White House during the visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the United States, The Washington Post notes, citing officials familiar with the course of the talks.
According to the publication, Witkoff served as the White House’s lead negotiator with the Kremlin ahead of the meeting in Anchorage, which, according to European officials, stemmed from a misreading of Russia’s demands and underscored the impossibility of achieving significant progress.
The Washington Post reports that during his most recent phone call with Trump, it was Putin who voiced the demand that Ukraine fully relinquish control over the Donetsk region. Only under this condition, he allegedly said, would he be prepared to end the war, according to two senior officials cited by the newspaper.
The authors of the article note that the Donetsk region holds critical strategic importance for Ukraine, serving as a vital barrier against further advances of Russian forces.
As Ukrinform reported earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump wants his team, after concluding a peace agreement in the Middle East, to focus on negotiations with Russia aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.
Photo: Office of the President