US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin are scheduled to talk in the coming days to discuss a possible ceasefire in Ukraine’s three-year conflict.
US ambassador Steve Witkoff, who spoke with Putin in Moscow on Thursday, told CNN that “there will be a call with both presidents this week”.
“We’re also continuing to engage and have conversations with the Ukrainians,” he finished. “We’re advising them on everything we’re thinking about.”
Last Monday, the United States and Ukraine agreed to propose a 30-day ceasefire to Russia. While Putin stated that he supports a cease-fire, he also laid out a set of stringent requirements for attaining peace.
Witkoff stated in an interview on Sunday that “I think the two presidents are going to have a really good and positive discussion this week.”
He also announced that US officials would meet with counterparts from Ukraine and Russia in the next week.
Witkoff said that he expected a settlement to be struck “in [the] coming weeks”.
“I am really hopeful we are going to see some progress here,” he said.
During his presidential campaign, Trump regularly pledged to stop the war, which began with Russia’s full-fledged invasion of its neighbour in 2022, on “day one” of his new government.
Less than a month after his inauguration, Trump reportedly spoke with Putin for 90 minutes about immediately beginning discussions to end the war.
Witkoff declined to comment on how Russian-occupied land in Ukraine may be dealt with in a hypothetical settlement. Russia currently controls around a sixth of Ukraine.
The envoy stated that Trump was actively involved in the diplomatic back-and-forth.
As an example, Witkoff stated that “within five to 10 minutes” of his meeting with Putin concluding on Thursday, he had returned to the US embassy to brief Trump, as well as Vice President JD Vance, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz.
“So the president is getting updates in real time on everything that’s happening, and he’s involved in every important decision here,” he said.
