Crimea and “four regions” are main roadblock to ending war in Ukraine — Trump’s envoy Witkoff

He said this in an interview with American blogger Tucker Carlson, according to Ukrainska Pravda.

“I think the biggest issue in this conflict is the ‘four regions’ — Crimea, Donbas, Luhansk, and two others (likely referring to Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions — ed.). They are Russian-speaking, there were referendums where the overwhelming majority of people showed they want to be under Russian control. I believe this is the core issue of the conflict,” Witkoff stated.

He added that this is a top priority and that a very positive conversation is underway. According to him, this has always been a problem, although no one seems to want to talk about it.

“This is the elephant in the room. The elephant in the room is the constitutional questions within Ukraine about what they can concede when it comes to giving up territory. The Russians de facto control these territories. The question is, will the world recognize them as Russian territories? Can Zelensky survive politically if he does? That is the central issue of the conflict. Absolutely,” said the U.S. special envoy.

• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that in negotiations with Russia, Ukraine’s red line is recognizing its occupied territories as Russian.