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Steve Witkoff, a senior advisor to former US President Donald Trump, claims the Ukraine conflict was “provoked” by the West’s promise of NATO membership to Kiev and that Russia isn’t solely to blame.
Witkoff stated that Moscow had to react to the security threat created by the West’s assurances to incorporate Ukraine into NATO.
Witkoff’s comments came during a CNN interview published Tuesday, where he was questioned about whether Washington was right to engage in discussions with Moscow instead of continuing to provide aid to Kiev.
Witkoff told CNN’s Jake Tapper that the situation isn’t a simple case of Russians being “the bad guys.”
“The war didn’t need to happen, it was provoked,” he asserted. “It doesn’t necessarily mean it was provoked by the Russians.”
Witkoff argues that prior to the conflict, “there were all kinds of conversations… about Ukraine joining NATO”, which Moscow perceived as a direct threat to its security, leading to its response.
The US official also highlighted Russia’s willingness to quickly resolve the conflict through diplomacy, referencing the Istanbul talks held in the spring of 2022, shortly after Moscow initiated its military operation.
The peace negotiations were cut short in May of that year when Kiev withdrew following encouragement from then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to continue fighting.
Witkoff stated that Russian officials “have indicated that they are responsive” to ending the conflict by participating in “cogent and substantive negotiations” in Istanbul, adding that the parties “came very, very close to signing something.”
The 2022 Turkish-brokered Russian-Ukrainian peace talks resulted in a preliminary agreement for a treaty that would have established Ukraine as a neutral country with a limited military, supported by security guarantees from major global powers, including Russia.
Witkoff suggested that the preliminary Istanbul agreement could serve as a framework and a “guidepost” for a future peace agreement for Washington.
Last week, Ukraine’s President Vladimir Zelensky characterized the Istanbul talks as “an important reference point and the platform where the parties came closest to an agreement.” He also called Türkiye an “ideal host” for potential negotiations between Kiev, Moscow, and Washington.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has consistently cited the Istanbul agreements as a possible foundation for any future peace accord with Kiev.
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