Witkoff says Trump and Putin to speak this week on Ukraine ceasefire deal

US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, will likely hold talks this week on how to reach a ceasefire deal for Ukraine, according to US special envoy Steve Witkoff.

Witkoff, who met with Putin for four hours on Thursday in Moscow, said on Sunday that he had arranged the talk between the two leaders as part of Trump's goal to seal a 30-day ceasefire deal between Russia and Ukraine.

Witkoff is a longtime friend of Trump and himself a real estate mogul like Trump. He is playing a key role on behalf of the Trump administration in US foreign policy. 

In an interview with CNN, Witkoff described his meeting with the Russian leader as "positive."

Witkoff claimed Putin shared the same "Trump philosophy" and had agreed to end the Ukraine war.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy aide, Yury Ushakov, drew parallels between European leaders and “affectionate puppies,” reflecting Putin’s earlier comments on US influence over European politics.

"The two sides are a lot closer today than they were a few weeks ago. We narrowed the differences," he said.

Witkoff said he had informed Trump of the results of his talks with Putin right after his meeting with the Russian leader from the US embassy in Moscow.   

On Saturday, Trump held discussions with his senior advisers, exploring ways to reach a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, he said.

More discussions are expected to take place today to “narrow the differences even further," he added.

Witkoff claimed he expected "to see a ceasefire within weeks."

In related news, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also spoke about Ukraine on Saturday.

Russia: US starts to better understand Moscow after talks in Riyadh

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow and Washington agreed to work together on ending the war in Ukraine .

"Secretary Rubio and Foreign Minister Lavrov also discussed next steps to follow up on recent meetings in Saudi Arabia and agreed to continue," the State Department said.

Meanwhile, Putin’s foreign policy aide said that the proposal for a 30-day truce, agreed upon at a meeting of US and Ukrainian representatives in Saudi Arabia, needed to be finalized by taking into account Russia's interests and concerns.

Yury Ushakov added that the 30-day truce is nothing more than a temporary respite for the Ukrainian military.

Russia is seeking a long-term peace deal with Ukraine that would take into account Moscow's interests and concerns, Ushakov said, adding that President Putin will formulate the official position on the US-proposed temporary truce in Ukraine.

“Russia must now accept” the truce deal, French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X.

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy followed suit, saying, “Ukraine has set their position out. It is now for Russia to accept it."

The British official added that Moscow must immediately accept the Trump-initiated deal "with no conditions.”

Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, hit back at Lammy over his disrespectful remark.

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