Republicans in the US Congress have criticised US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, after he described Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “humanitarian” following the release of US citizen Stephen Hubbard from Russian captivity.
The Hill reports.
“You speak so much about my president, President Trump, as a humanitarian. You are also a humanitarian, sir, and I pay tribute to you for that,” Witkoff told Putin in St Petersburg.
After the remarks, a number of Republicans in Congress criticised Witkoff.
Republican Senator Thom Tillis responded to the envoy’s words on X: “What the hell, Steve?”
“Look up the definition of the word ‘humanitarian’. This is a shameful and outrageous statement. You should go back to Ukraine and ask the families of the children Putin has abducted and killed whether they agree that your friend Putin is a ‘humanitarian’,” Tillis added.
Republican Senator John Cornyn also rejected Witkoff’s remarks: “No. Putin is a ruthless killer,” he wrote on X.
Republican Congressman Don Bacon called the envoy’s statement “another embarrassment”.
Witkoff was in St Petersburg to discuss the Russia–Ukraine war. The day before, he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Oslo, where they discussed proposals for establishing peace, security guarantees for Ukraine, and post-war reconstruction. According to Zelenskyy, the United States agrees that the security guarantees must be strong. There are various options, including an equivalent of NATO’s Article 5.
According to the Associated Press, on Wednesday Putin agreed “in principle” to resume trilateral talks involving the United States and Ukraine. They are expected to restart after 10 November.