‘No One Recognizes These Territories as Russian’– Zelensky Welcomes Black Sea Deal but Is Concerned About Witkoff’s Stance

President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday welcomed the deal made in Saudi Arabia on Monday that purports to halt hostilities in the Black Sea. However, he openly fretted about comments made by US special envoy to Moscow, Steve Witkoff, to a Kremlin-friendly US political media personality.

In an interview posted last week, fired Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who gave Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin free rein in an interview last year to expound his propaganda, allowed Witkoff to parrot much the same.

Witkoff said in the podcast: “There’s a view within the country of Russia that these are Russian territories,” referring to the regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson – southern and eastern Ukrainian territories now occupied by Russian troops.

The comments were reminiscent of those of many others on Trump’s team, most notably those of the new Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, which closely resembled Moscow’s messaging over the course of the war.

Zelensky did not mince words when asked by a reporter Tuesday about Witkoff’s portrayal of the Ukrainian territories as Russian.

“A lot of the information spread by some people and the person you mentioned... are very much in line with the messages of the Kremlin,” Zelensky responded.

He reflected on the so-called referenda held by Russian authories in those territories, which were roundly condemned by international organizations as illegitimate.

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“No one can legitimize these referendums because they were held at gunpoint,” Zelensky said, adding that “no one recognizes these territories as Russian.”

Zelensky also responded, at a Tuesday press conference, about details emerging from the White House-Kremlin talks in Riyadh. A preliminary agreement would hypothetically ensure safe navigation of commercial vessels through the Black Sea, condemn the use of force in such waters, and prevent commercial vessels from being used for military purposes. It also called for control measures involving vessel inspections.

An earlier White House statement on the issue did not clearly state when such a halt would come into effect, or which restrictions would be lifted, and initial statements from Kyiv and Moscow showed apparent disagreements.

“These were the right meetings, the right decisions, the right steps. No one can accuse Ukraine of not moving towards sustainable peace after this,” Zelensky said about the talks’ outcome.

He cautioned, however, that it was “too early to say that it will work.”

Zelensky also criticized Washington’s decision to help restore Russia’s access to the world market for its agricultural goods, saying it was “weakening” the positions of allies. He added that Ukrainians would “do our job to implement the agreements,” though details needed to be ironed out.