– It is disrespectful of Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to travel to Moscow without also visiting Kyiv or meeting us elsewhere, says Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyj.
The statement from Zelenskyj was given in a lengthy interview with the Ukrainian television channel ICTV on Monday, reports Kyiv Independent.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyj expressed doubts about the peace talks in an interview on 20 April, at the same time as it is expected that the American envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are to meet Ukrainian officials in a situation where the negotiations with Russia have stalled.
“I consider that their arrival is necessary for them, not for us… It is disrespectful to come to Moscow and not to Kyiv, it is simply disrespectful. I understand that we have complicated logistical conditions… If they do not wish this, we can meet in other countries,” said Zelenskyj.
Kushner and Witkoff have travelled to Moscow several times and met the Russian President Vladimir Putin during a visit on 22 January. The envoys have previously met Ukrainian authorities, but have not yet travelled to Kyiv.
At the same time, there is contact elsewhere:
An American delegation led by Witkoff and Kushner met Ukrainian authorities in Miami on 22 March in an attempt to mediate a peace agreement.
Ukraine and Russia remain far apart, as the Kremlin demands that the Ukrainians relinquish the Donbas region, which roughly consists of the oblasts of Donetsk and Luhansk, while Kyiv is not prepared to cede territory in order to end the war—something Zelenskyj in February told AFP that the Americans have also proposed to do. Russia states that it will take both oblasts by force if Ukraine does not yield.
On 31 March, Zelenskyj said that Russia is giving Ukraine two months to withdraw from the Donbas region, otherwise they will face new demands, and Moscow has signalled to Washington that they may take the region by force within this period.
– If this condition is non-negotiable, it may appear that the United States and Russia have reached an agreement between themselves without Ukraine, says Zelenskyj in the interview on Monday.
With the Iran war, the accusations that Trump and Putin are two sides of the same matter have increased in strength among globalist politicians, NGOs, and media. Zelenskyj in practice aligns himself with a European anti-Trump front by criticising his administration now.
At the same time, Ukraine needs Western assistance in the future:
The Ukrainian leader questioned what security guarantees can be given to Ukraine, and how effective such assurances may be without troops on the ground.
“If our allies are not present at the front, why should Russia not launch a new offensive after a while? What is to hold them back?”
The White House says that the United States President Donald Trump can guarantee security, but he will step down in 2.5 years, said Zelenskyj.
“What shall we do then?”
The question is whether Zelenskyj is betting that the next President of the United States will assist Ukraine more militarily.