President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded to the scandalous statements of US special envoy Steve Witkoff and stated that Ukraine is a sovereign state, and only the Ukrainian people can speak about its territories.
The head of state emphasized this during a press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Odessa.
Zelensky is convinced that Witkoff's statements regarding the territories of Ukraine are red lines - recognizing any occupied territories as Russian.
"Regarding the territory. Ukraine is a sovereign state, and all territories belong to the unitary state of Ukraine. Therefore, once again, only the people of Ukraine can speak about the territories of our state. And you know that for us it is a red line to recognize any temporarily occupied territories as not Ukrainian, but Russian. Therefore, once again, the relevant representatives are discussing issues beyond their competence," the head of state said.
It is worth explaining that US President's special envoy Steve Witkoff told American media that the peace agreement would include resolving the issue of the "so-called five territories," without specifying what exactly was being discussed.
He said he discussed with Russian dictator Putin steps that could end the war in Ukraine and possibly lead to new business opportunities.
Witkoff claims that Putin asked him to ensure "permanent peace," which he said "took us some time to get to."
"This peace agreement is about these so-called five territories, but it's much more than that. We could be on the verge of something that would be very, very important for the world as a whole," the special envoy said.
By the way, Yelizaveta Bogutska, a People's Deputy from the pro-presidential "Servant of the People" faction, was outraged by US President's special envoy Steve Witkoff and his visits to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.