“According to The Wall Street Journal, the special envoy of the US president, Steve Witkoff, convinced representatives of Ukraine that it is much more profitable for it to receive zero tariffs from the US than Tomahawk missiles.”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
Steve Witkoff, AFP photo via Getty Images Source: “European truth” with reference to a major publication of The Wall Street Journal, based on communications with sources
Details: The publication mentions the episode in October, when Trump was close to the decision to provide Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles – and then, after a conversation with the ruler of the Russian Federation and at the time of President Zelensky’s arrival in Washington, he changed his mind.
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Special Envoy Witkoff then allegedly undertook to convince the Ukrainian side that the USA had a more interesting offer for them.
Witkoff said that with the help of “a handful of missiles” it would still not be possible to achieve any significant results, and instead suggested that Ukraine ask Trump for a 10-year exemption from tariffs on Ukrainian goods – which “would be a good stimulus for the Ukrainian economy.”
It is worth noting that Witkoff’s proposal, if it really was heard, shows a lack of understanding of the realities of bilateral trade. In the structure of exports from Ukraine, the USA is only in 16th place, about 2% of Ukrainian exports go there. Thus, the zeroing of duties will not have a significant impact.
What preceded: The article also tells how a representative of the Kremlin tempted Trump’s negotiators with economic benefits from “friendship” with Russia.
Earlier this week, The Wall Street Journal published an article reconstructing the events of how the 28-point “peace plan” to end the Russian-Ukrainian war emerged.
Last weekend, the US and Ukrainian delegations held talks in Geneva regarding the initial draft of the “peace plan” and began to make adjustments to it.
On Saturday, November 29, the Ukrainian delegation led by Rustem Umyerov flew to the USA for new negotiations. The Bloomberg agency previously reported that the Ukrainian delegation will be in Florida, where it will hold meetings with the special envoy of the US president, Steve Witkoff, and Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
More on this topic in the article: Peace on the terms of Europe. How the US changes the armistice agreement and what becomes the main problem.