The American president has described his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as a “dictator without elections” — an assertion aligned with Russian-backed narratives that have sought to undermine the legitimacy of Ukraine’s leadership.
Critics say wartime elections would expose Ukraine to Russia’s destabilization tactics and be a logistical nightmare to organize in a country defending itself from an all-out invasion.
In the same interview, Witkoff also addressed Ukraine’s potential entry into the NATO military alliance, which Russia fiercely opposes.
“If there’s going to be a peace deal, Ukraine cannot be a member of NATO. I think that’s largely accepted,” Witkoff said.
But the U.S. envoy suggested that Ukraine could still benefit from similar security guarantees offered to NATO states under the alliance’s Article 5 collective defense clause, by which its members are compelled to provide assistance to each another if one of them is attacked.
“I think that’s open for discussion,” Witkoff said without providing more details.
