House Republican after Witkoff's leaked Russia call: White House 'should be very concerned'
Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) said Sunday that the White House “should be very concerned” after a call featuring special envoy Steve Witkoff and a senior Russian official was leaked.
“I think you can’t take just one slice of someone’s conversation during long, stretched-out aspects of negotiations as reflective, but I think it’s certainly important that when we do get that opportunity, that our voices are heard of caution and concern,” Turner told CBS News’s Nancy Cordes on “Face the Nation.”
“And the orchestration of inserting [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s voice before [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky’s is very concerning, and I think the White House should be very concerned about any efforts to orchestrate Putin’s voice at the White House before Zelensky’s because Ukraine’s sovereignty and security needs to be preeminent. And we heard that this morning from [Secretary of State Marco] Rubio, and that needs to be the focus,” he added.
President Trump has stood up for Witkoff following the leak of a phone call with a top Russian official that has faced criticism from Ukraine supporters. The backers of the Ukrainians have scrutinized the call over what they view as Witkoff’s efforts to hamper American support for Kyiv and put together a deal that is friendly to Russian interests.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/house-republican-witkoff-leaked-russia-210416182.html