Witkoff: The Ukrainian authorities agree to hold elections in the country

The Ukrainian authorities agree to hold elections in the country, US presidential special envoy Steve Witkoff, who is involved in negotiations between Moscow and Washington on the Ukrainian settlement, said in an interview with journalist Tucker Carlson.

"They (elections) will be. Yeah. They (the Ukrainian authorities) agreed to this. There will be elections in Ukraine," Witkoff said.

Ukrainians were supposed to elect the president last year, but due to martial law, no voting was held. The powers of Vladimir Zelensky expired in May 2024. In this regard, President Vladimir Putin said that Zelensky is more illegitimate. However, Kiev stated that the president of Ukraine legally holds his post until the next one is elected.

The special envoy also said that Zelensky and the head of his office, Andriy Yermak, "largely agreed that Ukraine would not become a member of NATO." Kiev's refusal to join the bloc is one of Moscow's key demands. Witkoff noted that despite this, it is still possible to discuss providing Ukraine with a protection format similar to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty (according to it, an attack on one NATO member is equivalent to an attack on all its members).

In addition, Witkoff shared the details of the ceasefire negotiations between the parties. According to him, a moratorium on firing at ships in the Black Sea is currently being discussed.

"We are now approaching the fact that this will be implemented within the next week or so," Witkoff predicts.

He added that "the ultimate goal is a 30—day ceasefire, during which we will discuss a permanent truce."

The next negotiations of Kiev and Washington and Washington and Moscow will be held on Sunday—Monday in Saudi Arabia. The Kremlin announced that during consultations on March 24 with representatives of the United States, ensuring the safety of navigation in the Black Sea will be discussed.