Thomas Watkins is the Washington bureau chief and a foreign correspondent for The National. He previously reported for Agence France-Presse, including as Pentagon correspondent and bureau chief for Afghanistan and Pakistan. He has also worked for The Associated Press.
We have documented 1 statement by Thomas Watkins, in 1 case. Each statement below gives the quotation, its original source and a link to the full case.
Case updates
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Role at the time: The National Washington bureau chief
Condemned
Statement summary
Watkins criticizes the praise as consistent with Trump's easing of pressure on Russia. He allows that a peace agreement could save lives but doubts that trust in Putin will produce one Ukraine can accept.
“Mr Witkoff's praise was jarring, but it was hardly surprising given recent events.”
Open source (opens in a new tab)Watkins criticizes the policy behind the Putin praiseSigned commentary; current version last modified October 22 UTC
Why we used this label
The speaker rejects or criticizes calling Putin a humanitarian.
Envoy Steve Witkoff called Vladimir Putin a humanitarian after Russia freed American Stephen Hubbard. Senators from both parties rejected the label, calling Putin a killer and a war criminal; President Trump said it could be used for the purpose of freeing Hubbard.
