Witkoff: Ukraine Peace Plan Centers on ‘5 Territories’
Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s special envoy, described his recent meeting with Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg as “compelling,” saying the nearly five-hour discussion centered on ending the war in Ukraine and exploring potential U.S.-Russia business opportunities, The Gaze reports citing Fox News.
At the conclusion of the April 11 meeting, Putin expressed a desire to secure “a permanent peace,” Witkoff told Fox News, though he admitted “it took a while for us to get to” that point.
He said the proposed peace framework hinges on “five territories,” without naming them explicitly. These are widely understood to include Crimea, occupied by Russia in 2014, and the partially occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions, occupied in 2022.
“This peace deal is about these so-called five territories,” Witkoff said. “But there’s so much more to it. I think we might be on the verge of something that would be very important for the world at large.”
Witkoff also framed the negotiations in terms of broader geopolitical and economic stakes: “I see a possibility to reshape the Russian-United States relationship through some very compelling commercial opportunities. That gives real stability to the region too.”
The renewed diplomatic efforts follow Trump’s frustration with Moscow’s refusal to accept a U.S.-proposed truce as a foundation for broader peace talks. “Russia has to get moving,” Trump wrote last week on Truth Social, pressing for progress toward a ceasefire.
Moscow has tied any ceasefire to sanctions relief and a halt to Western arms deliveries to Ukraine. Putin has also previously insisted on barring Ukraine from NATO membership — a demand Witkoff suggested remains part of broader discussions.
Despite efforts to broker a ceasefire, Russia has so far rejected the U.S.-backed 30-day full truce proposal, which Ukraine has supported. A narrower ceasefire focused on energy infrastructure has been repeatedly violated by Russian forces.
Watch more on The Gaze’s YouTube: Steve Witkoff: US Diplomat or Kremlin’s Puppet?