William Taylor, the former United States ambassador to Ukraine, told Newsmax that U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff does not face an easy sell convincing Russia to agree to a new peace proposal to end its invasion of Ukraine.
Taylor told "The Record With Greta Van Susteren" on Wednesday that "Witkoff has a hard job. He's going to have a very hard job."
The former ambassador said Witkoff’s mission though, is to succeed. "He's going to have to present the U.S. position, this 19-point plan, and look for ways to pressure, push, encourage, persuade [Russian President Vladimir] Putin to agree," Taylor explained.
And more than likely, said Taylor, it will need the involvement of President Donald Trump to win agreement. "It's going to be hard, and that's where President Trump comes in," he said. "President Trump can support the Witkoff mission by putting pressure on Putin, and he's started to do that."
Taylor pointed to economic actions against Russia that Trump recently imposed. "Two weeks ago, he put sanctions on the two largest Russian oil companies, and that's already had an effect of reducing the amount of funds going into the Russian treasury to enable them to pursue this war," Taylor said.
He said it will take a one-two, Witkoff-Trump punch. "That's the kind of pressure that Witkoff is going to need to be able to get Putin on board for this 19-point plan," Taylor said.
Taylor explained that the new plan is something of an offshoot of an earlier and longer plan that was written by the Russians and drew many complaints since it heavily favored Russia. But he said that should be expected.
This plan, he said, is more widely supported.
"The Americans and the Ukrainians and the Europeans are pretty united behind this 19-point plan," Taylor said.
He added that there is a specific provision in the new plan calling for the release of Ukrainian children kidnapped by Russia and removed from Ukraine, along with Ukrainian civilian adults and military service personnel who were captured and taken as prisoners.
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Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.
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