US President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, "misunderstood" Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. This is reported by the German publication BILD, citing sources, according to UNN.
Details
"Vladimir Putin still wants full control over the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions. He only offered a partial ceasefire – a refusal to attack energy facilities and large cities in the rear. But not a comprehensive ceasefire," a BILD source stated.
The publication emphasizes that the US, on the contrary, proposed freezing the war along the current front line in exchange for a broad lifting of sanctions and new economic agreements with Russia. According to BILD, the Kremlin was unwilling to accept this proposal.
The publication also notes that US special envoy Steve Witkoff misunderstood Putin's statements and took them for a concession. For example, he interpreted Russia's required "peaceful withdrawal" of Ukrainians from Kherson and Zaporizhzhia as an offer of a "peaceful withdrawal" of Russians from these same regions, reported by BILD.
"Witkoff doesn't know what he's talking about," a Ukrainian official stated. According to the publication, representatives of the German government share this assessment.
As BILD learned, a conference call took place recently in the evening between the US – specifically special envoy Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Vice President J.D. Vance – and European partners. The Europeans got the impression that the Americans themselves had not yet come to a common understanding of what was happening. This was primarily related to Witkoff, whose statements about his conversation with Putin in the Kremlin were perceived as confusing, the publication writes. To the Europeans, he seemed overwhelmed and incompetent when discussing territorial issues.
"In addition, there seem to be disagreements between Witkoff and Rubio regarding Europe's role. The Secretary of State emphasized that Europeans should be involved in the negotiation process, while Vance and Witkoff only wanted to inform Europe about the results of Trump's further steps," the publication adds.
Recall
US President Donald Trump announced that he would meet with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in Alaska on August 15.
As reported, Putin presented the Trump administration with a proposal for a ceasefire in Ukraine, which involves significant territorial concessions from Ukraine. This refers to the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, after the announcement of the Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska, stated Ukraine's readiness for real solutions for peace, but emphasized that Ukrainians would not give their land to the occupier. He stressed that the answer to the territorial question is already in the Constitution of Ukraine.