Steve Witkoff: Zelensky says Trump envoy spreading 'Russian narratives'

Steve Witkoff appeared to suggest that a peace deal hinged on the status of five Ukrainian regions.

British Broadcasting CorporationWatch LiveHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessFuture of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsArts in MotionTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingAudioPodcastsRadioAudio FAQsVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveWeatherNewslettersZelensky accuses Trump's envoy of spreading 'Russian narratives' 19 hours agoShareSaveTom BennettBBC NewsReporting fromLondonShareSaveReutersWitkoff met European and Ukrainian officials on Thursday in ParisUkraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused US special envoy Steve Witkoff of "disseminating Russian narratives" after he appeared to suggest that a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine hinged on the status of five Ukrainian regions.

After holding a five-hour meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, Witkoff told Fox News that a deal to end the war was "about these so-called five territories".

"I think that Mr Witkoff has taken the strategy of the Russian side," Zelensky told a Kyiv press conference on Thursday.

"I think it's really dangerous, because consciously or unconsciously he is disseminating Russian narratives".

Witkoff appeared to be referring to the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions in eastern Ukraine, much of which are under Russian military occupation after Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion in 2022 with the aim of taking control of the whole country.