Trump envoy: ‘Transfer of ownership of Russian-occupied territories’ Biden’s ‘diplomatic crime’
As President Trump’s special envoy to Russia formalized ‘granting ownership of Russian-occupied territories,’ conflicts between U.S. officials are growing, and a former State Department spokesman for Biden’s camp has criticized it as a ‘diplomatic crime.’
“Witkoff and Trump have committed the greatest sin of diplomacy,” Ned Price, a State Department spokesman under the Biden administration, told Reuters. “They have completely demonstrated their desperation for negotiations.”
Steve Witkoff, the U.S. envoy leading the talks with Moscow, sat down with Trump at the White House less than 48 hours after having dinner in St. Petersburg with Russian President Vladimir Putin as a negotiator in Washington, and told him that “the quickest way to broker a ceasefire in Ukraine is to support a strategy of granting Russia ownership of four eastern regions that Russia attempted to illegally annex in 2022,” two U.S. officials and five people familiar with the situation told Reuters.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said of the meeting with the special envoy, “It is unlikely that this meeting will lead to decisive results, but work is underway to normalize relations.”
At the time, TASS reported that “the Ukraine issue and the possibility of a meeting between Presidents Trump and Putin are likely to be on the agenda,” suggesting that “the goal of the special envoy is to hold a summit between the two countries.”
A video released by the Kremlin spokesman showed Putin and Special Envoy Witkov shaking hands at the start of the meeting.
The special envoy’s visit to Russia is the third attempt since Moscow and Washington began working to reset relations and find a way to end the war in Ukraine.
As Trump’s special envoy met with Putin in Russia, European defense ministers were meeting in Brussels, and British Defense Secretary John Healey chaired a meeting of Ukraine’s Western donors, saying new military aid pledges totaling more than €21 billion ($24 billion) had been pledged. “Military funding for Ukraine has increased to a record high, and we are also rapidly increasing our support for the frontline,” he said.
The British defense secretary added that the joint effort with Norway would provide hundreds of thousands of military drones, radar systems and anti-tank mines, and spend more than $580 million on repair and maintenance contracts to keep Ukrainian armored vehicles in the field.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did not attend the Brussels defense ministers’ meeting, and warned in February that “the U.S. is now prioritizing other places, including Asia and the U.S. border, and that European countries will have to look after their own security and Ukraine,” AP reported.
Yomiuri reported on the 12th that “Special Envoy Witkoff told President Trump at the White House last week that the quickest way to broker a ceasefire would be to support Russian ownership of the four states that Russia unilaterally annexed,” and that “Keith Kellogg, who was also present, opposed this, and Trump did not make a decision.”
Regarding Special Envoy Witkoff, Yomiuri said, “He is known as President Trump’s longtime real estate developer and golf buddy,” and “He has little diplomatic experience and is constantly being accused of being used by Russia.”
Reuters reported that “Witkoff has played a central and expanding role in the Trump administration’s foreign policy,” and that “even before Trump took office, Witkoff had long sought a ceasefire in Gaza.” “He helped negotiate the return of Mark Fogel, a U.S. citizen, to Russia (which later fell through),”
Reuters reported. “Witkoff is scheduled to travel to Russia on the 11th to meet with Putin and is expected to meet with Iran in the Middle East on the 12th, effectively leading another top national security mission,” the report said. “In an interview with Carlson on March 21, Witkoff first publicly stated his intention to hand over four Ukrainian regions — Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson — to Russia.”