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“Outside His Competence”: Zelenskyy Rejects Witkoff’s Talk of Territorial Concessions
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![Ivan_khomenko]( "Photo of Ivan Khomenko")
-21d0b63c17f6020e4df75f6c6f9a2f4f.jpg "Photo of Ivan Khomenko")
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has rejected recent remarks by Steve Witkoff, a special envoy for US President Donald Trump, concerning potential peace negotiations involving Ukraine’s territory.
According to Suspilne on April 15, speaking at a press conference in Odesa alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Zelenskyy stressed that any discussion about Ukraine’s territorial integrity must involve only the Ukrainian people.
“All territories belong to the unitary state of Ukraine. Only the people of Ukraine have the right to discuss issues concerning Ukrainian land,” Zelenskyy said. “For us, it is a red line to recognize any temporarily occupied territories as Russian. Those representatives mentioned are discussing issues beyond their competence.”
Zelenskyy’s comments come in response to Witkoff’s statement on Fox News, in which he claimed that a potential peace deal between Ukraine and Russia could center around the status of “five territories,” without providing further details.
According to the Ukrainian president, acknowledging any occupied territory as non-Ukrainian is unacceptable. He reiterated Ukraine’s position that its sovereignty and territorial integrity are non-negotiable.
Earlier, Trump’s Envoy Steve Witkoff told Fox News that a potential peace deal with Russia “is about these so-called five territories, but there’s so much more to it,” following a nearly five-hour meeting with Vladimir Putin in Saint Petersburg.
Witkoff said the talks covered not only territorial control but also business opportunities and broader efforts to reshape US-Russia relations.
While he did not name the territories, Russia has repeatedly demanded recognition of its occupation of Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, and other regions. The meeting included discussions on NATO’s Article 5 and Ukraine’s future security guarantees, but no formal deal was reached.
