Witkoff and the Russian president met in Moscow last week for discussions on a possible ceasefire in Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. A conversation that, according to Witkoff, was constructive and solution-focused.
I liked him. He was straight with me, says Steve Witkoff in a podcast interview with the right-wing conservative journalist Tucker Carlson.
He describes Putin as a "great leader".
I don't see Putin as a bad person. It's a complicated situation, the war, and all the parts that led up to it.
Steve Witkoff also tells how Vladimir Putin, during their conversation, told him about how he reacted to the assassination attempt on Donald Trump in July 2024, when Trump was shot in the ear during a campaign meeting.
When the president was shot, he went to his local church, met his priest, and prayed for the president, says Witkoff and continues:
Not because he could become the President of the USA, but because they were friends and he prayed for his friend.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyj is facing tough choices, according to Steve Witkoff, and should realize that it's time to "get an agreement made" with Moscow.
He's up against a nuclear nation. So he must know that he will be ground down in the end. Now is the best time for him to get an agreement, says the envoy in the interview.
