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US envoy says ‘elephant in the room’ in peace talks is whether Ukraine will cede occupied regions

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Steve Witkoff says the status of Crimea and the four mainland Ukrainian regions occupied by Russia is the biggest obstacle to resolving Russia 's war in Ukraine .

The four mainland regions were illegally annexed during Russia ’s full-scale invasion and Kyiv vehemently opposes giving them up.

The Kremlin has since staged referenda on joining Russia in Donetsk , Luhansk , Zaporizhzhia and Kherson , which Kyiv and the international community decried as a propaganda exercise.

Talks are set to resume Monday in Saudi Arabia , with US officials set to meet officials from Russia and Ukraine .