Retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark told Newsmax on Wednesday that reports of a leaked conversation between U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian adviser Yuri Ushakov should have no bearing on whether negotiators can finalize a deal to end the war in Ukraine, despite the political noise it generated.
The former NATO commander told "American Agenda" that the incident — a purported recording in which Witkoff allegedly coached Ushakov on how to frame a potential leaders' call, including by praising President Donald Trump as "a man of peace" — primarily reinforces suspicions long held in Kyiv, not any new strategic shift.
"I don't know that the leak is particularly damaging, except that it makes it look like there's some secret agreement between the United States and Russia and that it's Ukraine on the outs," Clark said. "But if you went to the Ukrainians, they felt that way from the beginning. From the beginning, they felt that President Trump was trying to help Russia rather than help Ukraine."
Clark contrasted the dynamics in Ukraine with the recently concluded ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, saying the U.S. was able to work "with its ally that shares its values," Israel, against a terrorist organization. By comparison, Ukraine — a U.S. partner that "believes in democracy" and is fighting an "aggressor nation" — sees mixed signals in Washington.
Still, he stressed that the leak "doesn't have any real bearing on the outcome" of current talks.
Pressed on why Kyiv is demanding firm security guarantees, Clark pointed to the historical backdrop: Ukraine's belief that the 1994 Budapest Memorandum offered protection that ultimately failed when Russia seized Crimea in 2014.
Clark said Ukrainians viewed that document as a U.S. commitment, even though it was not legally binding because it never went before the Senate.
"If we're going to look at a security guarantee here, it really needs to go in front of the United States Senate and be a legally binding agreement," he said.
Clark argued the central obstacle to peace remains Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"If you go to Putin and say, 'Why don't you stop the shooting,' he won't stop," Clark said. "He wants to use diplomacy as a wedge between the United States, Europe, our European allies, and the Ukrainians."
The real pressure, he added, should be placed on Moscow — not Kyiv — if the goal is a lasting agreement.
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