Steve Witkoff calls Putin a ‘humanitarian’ during talks, drawing criticism from US lawmakers
The US envoy praised Vladimir Putin during an October 21 meeting in St Petersburg. Senators from both parties challenged the description as Washington pursued talks over the war in Ukraine.
US envoy Steve Witkoff called Russian President Vladimir Putin a ‘humanitarian’ during their meeting in St Petersburg on Wednesday, October 21, drawing criticism from US lawmakers as Washington pursued talks over Russia’s war in Ukraine. POLITICO Europe reported that the exchange appeared in a Russian state media video clip posted on social media.
‘You talk so much about my president, President Trump, being a humanitarian,’ Witkoff told Putin. ‘You are a humanitarian also, sir, and I salute that, I commend you, and I thank you again.’ CBS News reported that he made the remarks in response to the release of Stephen Hubbard, an American imprisoned in Russia.
CBS News identified Hubbard as 74 and said he had spent four years in Russian custody and had been determined to be wrongfully detained. His release was the immediate context for Witkoff’s thanks to Putin; the envoy’s description of the Russian president prompted a separate dispute over his choice of words.
How US lawmakers responded to Witkoff’s remarks
Republican Senator Thom Tillis called the remark ‘embarrassing and outrageous’ in a post on X, CBS News reported. Addressing Witkoff, he asked whether families of Ukrainian children he said Putin had kidnapped and murdered would agree with the description. His criticism targeted the praise of Putin, rather than Hubbard’s release.
Republican Senator John Cornyn responded to a video of the exchange by calling Putin a ‘stone cold killer,’ according to CBS News. Rolling Stone also reported criticism from Democratic Senator Mark Kelly, who questioned how Putin could be considered a humanitarian. The responses crossed party lines, though each lawmaker spoke for themselves.
Former US ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor told CBS News that Hubbard’s return was ‘absolutely a good thing,’ but said he should never have been imprisoned. Taylor called Witkoff’s humanitarian remark ‘cringeworthy,’ separating support for an American detainee’s release from praise for the Russian leader.
The St Petersburg meeting and Ukraine talks
Witkoff’s visit was intended to advance efforts toward a resolution of the war, CBS News reported. POLITICO Europe said he had met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Oslo on Tuesday and was expected to propose talks involving Zelenskyy, Putin and Trump. That proposal was an expectation reported ahead of the St Petersburg meeting; an agreement to hold such talks was not established.
The remarks came as Russia continued strikes on Ukraine. POLITICO Europe reported that overnight attacks on Kyiv and Kharkiv killed three people, citing local mayors. It also cited United Nations figures showing 328 civilians killed by Russia’s assault in September. Those reports explain why Witkoff’s description of Putin drew objections beyond the immediate question of Hubbard’s release.
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Sources and context
- Witkoff faces backlash for calling Putin a "humanitarian": "Embarrassing and outrageous"CBS News
- Witkoff to Putin: ‘You are a humanitarian … I salute that’POLITICO Europe
- Trump's Russia Envoy Praises Putin as a Great 'Humanitarian'Rolling Stone
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.