WASHINGTON, May 13. /TASS/. US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff doubts there can be any peace deal without Russian President Vladimir Putin’s approval.
"I’ve talked to <…> both sides — because how can you be involved in mediating or crafting solutions unless you’re talking to everybody," according to Witkoff, speaking in an interview with Breitbart News recorded on May 8. "I’ve talked to [head of Vladimir Zelensky’s office] Andrey Yermak, I’ve talked to President Zelensky, I’ve talked to their defense minister Mr. [Rustem] Umerov. We have really good — we have positive discussions, positive relationships. I’ve talked to all the national security advisers who are involved in this from England, from France, from Germany, from Italy. And I’ve talked to President Putin. There is no deal without President Putin’s sign off. He is the leader of the Russian Federation," Witkoff said.
The US envoy expressed his confidence that Russia is looking to find a peaceful solution to the Ukraine crisis. "I think the Russians actually do want a peaceful settlement, and both sides are trying to figure out what that means for them. Our job is to put them in a room together and show them that the alternatives to a peaceful resolution here are bad for everybody," he explained.
According to Witkoff, US President Donald Trump has instructed him to engage with all parties to the conflict in order to understand their position and grope for a solution. "What we’re suggesting is direct talks between the two parties sooner rather than later," he said. "We have to get everybody thinking that the responsible way to address this is a diplomatic solution," Witkoff concluded.
Speaking to reporters in the Kremlin in the small hours of May 11, Russian President Vladimir Putin invited the Kiev authorities to resume the direct talks they broke off in 2022 without any preliminary conditions. The Russian leader proposed to launch a dialogue on May 15 in Istanbul. He recalled that Russia had declared ceasefires more than once but all of them, including the latest three-day V-Day truce, were violated by the Kiev regime.