Vice President JD Vance defended the envoy Steve Witkoff of President Donald Trump on Monday on Monday after experts in foreign policy protested against his description of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Witkoff said he liked Putin and did not see Putin as a 'bad guy' during an appearance on the Tucker Carlson show on Friday to discuss his meeting with the Russian president.
“I don't consider Putin as a bad guy. That is a complicated situation that war, and all the ingredients that led to it, “said Witkoff.
“Steve Witkoff is a great guy who does incredible work,” Vance wrote on social media on Monday. “The people who swing to him are angry that he succeeds where they failed for 40 years.”
“It turns out that a lot of diplomacy amounts to a simple skill: don't be an idiot,” VANCE continued
Witkoff discussed his unconventional approach to diplomacy outside the traditional diplomatic channels centered by the government, which led to a successful ceasefish -the fire agreement with Gaza and Israel.
“This whole peace with strength thing, it's not just a slogan that really works,” he explained.
Witkoff said he was successful in his negotiations because President Trump set clear goals for him about foreign policy and had his back.
“I'm with the president and we often talk about what the endgame is, where he wants to go, and once you decide where to go, it's all about tactically figuring out what that path is,” he said.
American Vice President JD Vance defended the envoy Steve Witkoff of President Donald Trump
Steve Witkoff on the Tucker Carlson Show
“Putin has a huge respect for the president,” said Witkoff who noticed that respect was the key to negotiate with Trump.
He mentioned the Zensky meeting as a demonstration of how not to act when he tried to close a deal with Trump.
“Respect him is not a healthy way to have a good relationship with him,” he said referring to Trump.
But he said that Zensky had since reset his relationship with Trump and had made progress in the negotiations and had since had a 'wonderful conversation with the president'.
Witkoff said his goal was to reach a deal where both parties were 'satisfied' and there was one that 'everyone could live with'.
During the interview, Witkoff had difficulty remembering the names of all four names of the 'so -called' four regions in Ukraine.
“Donbas, Crimea,” he started before he refers to “two others” and indicated that two of the regions were Russian speaking.
Witkoff said that Russian President Vladimir Putin was 'merciful' by meeting him in Russia
Ukrainian President VolodyMyr Zensky (L) talks to US President Donald Trump (C) and the American Vice President JD Vance (R) I.
“That is the elephant in the room,” Witcoff said that it refers to “constitutional issues” in Ukraine that forbids them to give ground to the Russians who were “de facto” controlled by Russia.
He said that the Zensky had essentially “accepted” that Ukraine would not be a member of NATO.
“If there is a peace agreement, Ukraine cannot be a member of NATO, I think that has largely been accepted,” Witkoff said.
Witcoff said that he met Putin in detail to discuss the issues with regard to the current conflict as an envoy of the president.
“I liked him. I thought he was immediately with me, “he said. “I thought it was merciful to him to accept me, to see me.”
Witkoff said that Biden and Putin had not spoken in three and a half years during the conflict in Ukraine and that Trump encouraged him to open communication with the Russian president.
