Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has commented on the statement made by Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy for the Middle East, who said the key to a peace deal revolves around "five territories".

Source: Interfax-Ukraine, citing Zelenskyy’s remarks at a press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Odesa, as reported by European Pravda 

Quote: "Ukraine is a sovereign state, and only the Ukrainian people can speak about its territories.

All territories belong to the unitary state of Ukraine. Once again – only the Ukrainian people can speak about our territories. And you know what our red lines are – we will never recognise any temporarily occupied territories as Russian.

Therefore, these individuals are discussing matters beyond their mandate."

Background:

• Witkoff stated on Fox News that a peace deal would involve settling the issue of "so-called five territories", though he did not specify which ones.
• Previously, in a high-profile interview with Tucker Carlson, Witkoff claimed that the biggest issue in this conflict was the "so-called four regions", but then listed five: "Donbas, Crimea, Luhansk, and two more".
• Following these remarks, Reuters reported that some of Witkoff’s statements and actions regarding Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine have drawn criticism in the White House and among Republicans. 

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