Witkoff's statements seen as concession to Kremlin ahead of peace talks – ISW

Ukrinform reports this, citing data from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

In an interview published on March 21, Witkoff said that Russia “100 percent” does not intend to invade the EU and that it “does not need to swallow Ukraine.” He also noted that Russia “has reclaimed” five regions of Ukraine — Crimea, as well as the Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson regions — and that Russia “got what [it] wanted” and will not seek more.

ISW analysts point out that the Kremlin has repeatedly and falsely claimed that Crimea and the four regions are Russian territory, in violation of international law. Witkoff’s claim that Russia is “taking back” these territories (which it illegally occupied and annexed) strengthens the Kremlin’s justification for its expansionist territorial claims and multiple incursions into Ukraine.

Read also: Kremlin uses propaganda to undermine peace talks – ISW

The report notes that Witkoff uncritically repeated a number of inaccurate Russian claims regarding the status of Ukrainian territories that Russia illegally occupies. In a March 21 interview, he claimed that Russian-occupied Crimea, Donbas, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions were “Russian-speaking” and that “referendums were held [in these regions] in which the vast majority of voters indicated that they wanted to be under Russian rule.”

According to ISW, Russia has long used such claims to justify its unprovoked aggression against Ukraine, resorting to the claim that it needs to “protect Russian-speaking populations” in eastern Ukraine to justify launching a full-scale invasion in 2022.

However, ISW points out that Russia has consistently undermined its own myth of “protecting Russian speakers” in Ukraine by destroying predominantly Russian-speaking cities in eastern Ukraine, killing Russian-speaking Ukrainians, and deporting Russian-speaking Ukrainian children to Russia, all in violation of international law. Russia’s invasions of Ukraine have never been aimed at protecting Russian speakers.

The ISW report also emphasizes that Witkoff’s statements undermine U.S. President Donald Trump’s desired end state of the war in Ukraine, one that ensures sustainable peace and serves the best interests of the United States, Ukraine, and the ERA. Witkoff’s presentation on March 21 of Russia’s territorial demands throughout the Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson regions—including areas of these four regions that are not currently occupied by Russian forces—undermines Trump’s efforts to achieve an end to the war that benefits U.S. interests. Ceding territory in these four regions to Russia—whether along current front lines or along administrative regional boundaries—will not provide Ukraine with the defensive lines it needs to reliably defend against possible renewed Russian aggression in the future.

Witkoff also claimed that Ukrainian officials “admitted” that Ukraine would not join NATO — a proactive U.S. concession to Russia on one of the Kremlin’s top demands, as Russia continues to make no concessions in return. Witkoff’s statements appear to concede numerous Kremlin demands before formal peace talks begin, losing valuable U.S. and Ukrainian leverage over Russia in future negotiations that the United States will need to achieve Trump’s desired end to the war.

Photo: EPA-EFE/SEAN TEW