Ukraine’s ‘five territories’ concession at core of Trump envoy’s peace ‘breakthrough’

He called it a "compelling meeting" and claimed to have reached an agreement to work toward a lasting peace that goes beyond a cease-fire. Putin's advisors, Yuri Ushakov and Kirill Dmitriev, also attended the meeting. 

The "peace agreement" is said to focus on the "so-called five territories," which Witkoff didn't specify.

As of now, Russia has occupied Crimea and parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhya, and Kherson oblasts, which Moscow had previously declared as its “own” through legally invalid decisions.

“But it is about much more than that. It is about security protocols, NATO or not, Article 5. That is, there are many details related to it [the agreement],” he claimed, describing Russia's war against Ukraine as a "complicated situation" based on "real problematic things" between the two countries.

"And I think we may be on the verge of something that will be very, very important for the world as a whole. I also think that there is an opportunity to change the relationship between Russia and the United States because of very attractive economic opportunities that I think can bring real stability to the region [presumably referring to Europe or Eastern Europe]. Partnership creates stability.”

Witkoff has publicly expressed similar views before, including in a series of recent interviews.

On April 11, Reuters reported that Witkoff suggested to Trump that he support Russian "ownership" of the partially occupied Ukrainian oblasts.

According to two U.S. officials and five people “familiar with the situation,” Witkoff delivered the message shortly after meeting with Kirill Dmitriev, who was dispatched to Washington by Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.

“The fastest way to broker a ceasefire in Ukraine, said Witkoff, was to support a strategy that would give Russia ownership of four eastern Ukrainian regions it attempted to annex illegally in 2022…,” the report reads.