US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will speak in coming days, as talks continue over a possible ceasefire in the three-year war in Ukraine.
US envoy Steve Witkoff, who met with Putin on Thursday in Moscow, told CNN that he expected that “there will be a call with both presidents this week”.
“We’re also continuing to engage and have conversation with the Ukrainians,” he added. “We’re advising them on everything we’re thinking about.”
Last week, the US and Ukraine agreed to propose a 30-day ceasefire to Russia. While Putin said that he supported a ceasefire, he also set out a list of tough conditions for achieving peace.
Witkoff said in the interview on Sunday: “I think the two presidents are going to have a really good and positive discussion this week.”
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He also said that teams of US negotiators would meet counterparts from both Ukraine and Russia during the coming week.
Witkoff added that he believed a deal would be reached “in [the] coming weeks”.
“I am really hopeful we are going to see some progress here,” he said.
During his election campaign, Trump repeatedly promised to end the war, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbour in 2022, on “day one” of a new administration.
Less than a month after he was inaugurated, Trump had call with Putin that reportedly spanned 90 minutes about immediately starting negotiations on ending the war.
Witkoff declined to answer a question on how Russian-occupied land in Ukraine could be addressed in a potential deal. Russia currently controls around a fifth of Ukraine.
The envoy said Trump was actively participating in the diplomatic back-and-forth.
As an example, Witkoff said 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.