Donald Trump Special Representative Steve Witcoff made a resonant statement about the future status of the Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia. In an interview with Carlson, he called this question "the biggest problem in this conflict" and suggested that the world community has placed on whether it recognizes Russian occupation.
Vitcoff stressed that Crimea, Donetsk, Lugansk and two other regions (probably referring to Zaporizhzhya and Kherson) are "Russian -speaking regions", on the territory of which referendums were allegedly held, where "the overwhelming number of people expressed a desire to be under the Russian leadership." However, he did not mention that these so -called "referendums" were conducted under the muzzles of Russian vending machines, without international recognition and in conditions where the majority of the population was forced to leave their homes.
According to Witcoff, the problem of these territories "always existed", but no one wants to talk about it. He compared this with an elephant in the room and reported that the main issue is the constitutional restrictions on Ukraine regarding the possibility of abandoning its lands. He also suggested that the political future of Vladimir Zelensky depends on whether he could make concessions in this matter.
Since the beginning of a full -scale invasion of 2022, Russia has repeatedly stated that it requires recognition of its occupation. Moscow continues to promote the thesis that Ukraine should "abandon" territories that are in fact an integral part of the Ukrainian state, which is enshrined in international law.
Ukraine categorically denies any territorial concessions and emphasizes that the issue of restoration of sovereignty is fundamental. Kyiv has repeatedly stated that one foreign leader has no right to decide the fate of Ukrainian lands without the consent of the Ukrainian people.
It should be noted that earlier Donald himself stated that the United States was negotiating with Ukraine on Trump territorial issues. He hinted that there may be some options for the loss of part of the temporarily occupied territories as part of the War. These statements have caused indignation both among the Ukrainian leadership and among the international partners of Kyiv.
The position of the event on this issue remains clear: the UN and the state of Western states do not recognize the annexation of the Ukrainian territories and support Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. In turn, Russia continues to use the issues of occupied regions as a pressure tool and tries to force the world to recognize its invading policy.
