President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to speak this week, Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff revealed on Sunday.
Witkoff just returned from discussions with Putin on the United States’s proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war, which Kyiv has already signed off on. Trump described that meeting as “very good and productive” and said there’s “a very good chance” that the war “can finally come to an end.”
When asked on CNN’s State of the Union when Trump might be more directly involved with the ceasefire negotiations, Witkoff countered that the president is “involved in every aspect and dimension” of each discussion, while also revealing his expectation of a call between Trump and Putin sometime this week.
While the Middle East envoy did not reveal specific details about the expected conversation, he did project optimism ahead of it.
“I think the two presidents are going to have a really good and positive discussion this week,” Witkoff said.
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The phone call would mark the second time the pair have spoken by phone since Trump entered the White House in January for his second term. The first was on Feb. 12, when Trump and Putin agreed to “start negotiations immediately” to end the war in Ukraine.
Since then, negotiations have accelerated, with a ceasefire proposal now on the table for Putin to sign. The Russian president, however, has been hesitant about the proposal, saying that while Russia “agree[s] with the propositions to stop hostilities,” any deal would need to “remove the initial causes of the crisis,” likely a reference to his justification for the war that NATO has expanded closer to Russia’s borders and poses a threat.
Witkoff said on Sunday that Putin has “indicated he accepts the philosophy of President Trump” and wants to see an end to the war, adding that he believes a deal will be made in the “coming weeks.”
