Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff has criticised Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s proposal for an international force to support a ceasefire in Ukraine, describing it as “a posture and a pose”, and went on to parrot many of the Kremlin’s talking points to justify the war.

In an interview with US journalist Tucker Carlson, Witkoff argued the idea was based on a “simplistic” notion of emulating wartime leaders like Winston Churchill. “There is this sort of notion that we have all got to be like Winston Churchill. Russians are going to march across Europe. That is preposterous by the way. We have something called Nato that we did not have in World War Two,” Witkoff said.

Witkoff, who is leading US ceasefire negotiations with Russia and Ukraine, praised Russian President Vladimir Putin during the interview and reiterated Russian arguments that Ukraine is “a false country” and that the partially occupied territories are now effectively part of Russia. “The elephant in the room is, there are constitutional issues within Ukraine as to what they can concede to with regard to giving up territory,” he stated, suggesting that global recognition of Russia’s claims might be necessary.

Witkoff was unable to accurately identify the four regions of Ukraine either annexed or partially occupied by Russian forces, referring only to “Donbas, Crimea, you know the names and there are two others.”

He also made unsubstantiated claims about Ukrainian troops being surrounded in Kursk, which Ukraine’s government has denied.

Most controversially, the special envoy further asserted that referenda held in the four occupied regions indicated “overwhelming support for Russian rule,” despite the fact that these had been held at gunpoint and their legitimacy has been widely discredited. Witkoff claimed: “They have reclaimed these five regions. They have Crimea and they have gotten what they want. So why do they need more?”

He also repeated that the US was willing to do business with Russia and outlined Trump’s vision for future cooperation with Russia, including collaboration on energy policies in the Arctic, liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to Europe, and joint artificial intelligence projects.

Interview highlights:

(0:00) What Witkoff has learned as Trump’s global negotiator

(4:10) Negotiating with Israel, Hamas and Qatar

(12:50) Will we achieve peace between Israel and Hamas?

(19:09) Why corporate media hate Witkoff

(22:45) How the loss of his son changed the way Witkoff negotiates hostage situations

(29:55) Israel’s goals

(36:47) Trump’s plan for Gaza

(44:29) How Witkoff negotiated the ceasefire

(50:52) Should we be concerned about Jordan, Egypt and Turkey?

(54:36) Negotiating with Russia and Ukraine

(1:09:18) Putin praying for Trump after he was shot

(1:12:55) Will there be elections in Ukraine again?

(1:18:35) Donald Trump vs. Washington warmongers

(1:26:19) Trump’s letter to Iran