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Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are scheduled to call about the Russian-Ukraine war next week as Washington is about to broker a ceasefire deal.
Trump envoy Steve Witkov on Sunday held a “positive” meeting with Putin on CNN, with Russian and Ukrainian political parties saying “today is much closer.”
“We expect to see a call with both presidents this week, and we continue to engage with and continue our conversations with Ukrainians,” he said.
Comments were able to support Ukraine as Trump is trying to win Putin against a ceasefire proposal after the US and its G7 partners on Friday warned that they could extend sanctions to Moscow and use frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine. The joint statement signed up for a 30-day ceasefire, following a week, but Moscow was reluctant to do so soon.
Witkov told CNN he witnessed improvements in ceasefire negotiations. He said the side was previously “mile away.”
“We narrowed those differences and now we’re sitting at the table,” he added, following consultations in Saudi Arabia led by US National Security Advisors Mike Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and a “equally positive” meeting with Witkov’s Putin.
The White House in Washington and the Russian Embassy did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The envoy told CBS that negotiations were complicated and included access to “major regions of conflict” in the Kursk region, nuclear reactors that supply electricity to Ukraine and ports, including multiple angles and large ranges of territory.
“There are so many factors to implementing a ceasefire here,” Witkov said, adding, “it includes ways to prevent people from fighting each other across the 2,000-kilometer border.”
He also appears to have rejected a statement by French President Emmanuel Macron, who claimed that Russia “doesn’t seem to seek peace in good faith.”
Witkoff declined to comment on Macron’s remarks, but added: . . I saw a long-term constructive effort to discuss the details of what’s going on in the field. ”
Witkoff was asked when he thought there would be a deal, Trump quoted.
“I don’t oppose him,” the envoy told CNN.
