Transcript: Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," Aug. 10, 2025
MARGARET BRENNAN: Good morning, and welcome to "Face The Nation." President Trump has decided to bring Vladimir Putin in from the cold, ending isolation of the Russian leader and accused war criminal. His hope is to persuade Putin to finally do the thing he's refused: end Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The two leaders will meet in Alaska, another part of the former Russian Empire. With the future of European security on the line, Western leaders rushed to get their word in, sending top advisers to meet with Vice President Vance in the United Kingdom, and they are planning to convene top diplomats tomorrow. In the meantime, President Trump is sending his envoy, Keith Kellogg, to Ukraine, as President Zelenskyy says his country will not simply "gift" territory to Russia. We begin this morning with Ukraine's ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova. Good to have you back here, Ambassador.
AMB. MARKAROVA: Good morning America, and thank you for having me.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, President Zelenskyy has made clear he's not just going to give away land to Russia. Kyiv has to be part of the negotiations, and he has said a ceasefire needs to happen first. Do you expect a ceasefire this week?
AMB. MARKAROVA: Well, that's something that all Ukraine prays for President Trump to be effective and to have great results. And as you know, since the discussions here with President Trump, Ukraine agreed to full ceasefire, to partial ceasefires, to any type of ceasefires. Because again, let's remind everyone, Ukraine did not start this war. Putin started this war in 2014, he continued with full fledged invasion in 2022, and it's Ukrainian citizens, Ukrainian cities, Ukrainian defenders on the front lines, Ukrainian children who suffer every day. So yes, we want Putin to stop, and we really are hopeful that this push from President Trump, and the sanction packages which are on the table, and secondary sanctions which are already implemented against those who help Russia, will convince President Putin that this is time for him to finally stop his aggression.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But President Trump did blow past that deadline to put more sanctions on Russia and instead offered this meeting. We know that the White House says it's a one-on-one with Vladimir Putin at Putin's request, but that the president's open to some sort of trilateral meeting with President Zelenskyy. Is there anything being planned to bring Ukraine to the table?
AMB. MARKAROVA: Well, Margaret, I can say sometimes diplomacy requires different formats, different meetings, and again, we appreciate President Trump, not only pushing for the end of this war, but as you saw, Vice President Vance has been in Europe, negotiating, discussing, having this very constructive meetings with our delegation, but also European leaders. Now, with regard to President Zelenskyy, he has been, since day one of this horrible aggression, committed to peace, and we have shown that he is ready to be anywhere to- to advance the agenda of peace. So if needed, President Zelenskyy, of course, will be present at the meetings. We have been very open about it, but let's see how this will go.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But he's not planning to be in Alaska on Friday?
AMB. MARKAROVA: If he will be planning to do that, we'll be there, but--
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah. But you're waiting for that. We do know that Envoy Keith Kellogg is being sent to Kyiv to speak with the Ukrainian government. So is- is- what is his role here? Is he going to be sort of conveying messages back and forth? What is it that needs to be negotiated in Kyiv right now?
AMB. MARKAROVA: Well, Special Envoy Kellogg has been a very important part of U.S. team that works with us on a regular basis. Because, again, I mean, we're all focused on the upcoming summit, but there is so much more that we do together. The investment deal that, not only we signed, but we are actually developing that strategic opportunity to cooperate between our countries on economic front, the weapons provision from the United States, but also buying American weapons and producing together, you know, big drone deal and other deals that our presidents discussed together. So there is a lot on our bilateral U.S.-Ukraine agenda, which, of course, all is at this moment, related to horrible war. But not only. So, we are always glad to see Keith Kellogg in- in Kyiv.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But what we know from our reporting is that Envoy Witkoff, Steve Wirkoff, went to Moscow. He was described- described to him was a Russian idea for some kind of settlement of the war, and it included carving up parts of Ukraine. Then on Friday, President Trump spoke publicly about what had happened, and he said, President Zelenskyy has to get everything he needs ready because, quote, "he's going to have to get ready to sign something, and I think he's working hard to get that done." What is he going to sign? What has been proposed?
AMB. MARKAROVA: Special Envoy Witkoff is a special envoy on Russia, and he works with- with that counterpart, and we work with the Vice President, with Secretary Rubio, with Special Envoy Kellogg, and with all teams, Secretary Bessent and others on everything on our bilateral agenda. Now, President Zelenskyy has been very clear: Ukraine is committed to peace. We will be very constructive in all of our discussions. At the same time, we have to, again, acknowledge the facts. You know, it's Russia that attacked us. It's Russia that illegally occupied Crimea and other territories since 2022. We do have the main Bible of the country, the constitution of Ukraine, which clearly lists in Article 133 that Ukraine comprises of and- and says what is it comprised of. Now we all understand the reality on the ground, and we are ready to discuss, you know, how to end this war. And that's why ceasefire, as- as- as- as a- as a step, has always been so important to stop the killing, something that President Trump has put on the table as early as February. So let's stop the- the killings, and let's get to diplomacy. That's something Ukraine always was ready to do.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You're pointing to your constitution because your point is, the president can't just give away land. It has to actually go and be considered because of how your constitution--
AMB. MARKAROVA: President of any country is a guarantor of the constitution.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Vladimir Putin's constitution, though, now has these areas he's annexed from your country in his constitution.
AMB. MARKAROVA: Yes. Everyone knows. And 142 countries at the UN clearly voted that that was illegal, unprovoked move on his part, and the court, as early as March 2022, international court, has actually told Russia to stop the so-called special military operation and get out from Ukrainian territory.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Russia holds about 22% of Ukrainian territory, I believe, at this point. Is your concern that at this negotiating table in Alaska, Vladimir Putin is going to try to talk his way into further land seizures?
AMB. MARKAROVA: Well, President Putin lied in 2022 that he was not going to attack Ukraine. Then he lied a number of times since 2022 that it wasn't him who bombed Mariupol maternity hospital, or it wasn't him who abducts and kills, kidnaps, Ukrainian children and everything else. Now I'm positive that President Trump and everyone here in the United States, and we're so grateful to American people for all the support. They understand that the implications of how this war will end is so much bigger than just about Ukraine. It is existential for us. But the concept of buffer zones, or whatever, you know, the- this outdated, old concepts from the previous century, they do not work anymore. The front line in east and south of Ukraine is the front line between evil and good. And the question is, when that front line is going to be. Is it going to be on our territory? Is it going to be on our borders? Or is it going to be in Europe and everywhere, where it will affect Europe, U.S., and other. So, you know, we just have to- it's not just about land. It's about the principles and values. And judging by the recent decisions, including the sanctions on India for supporting Russia war machine, including on those sanctions that have been prepared, I am confident that U.S. will be coming from the position of strength, you know, peace through strength, and that will allow us, together, to find a solution to stop Russia's aggression.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Ambassador Markarova, thank you for your time today. We'll be right back.
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