U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said over the weekend that Russia and Ukraine are much closer today than they were when discussions first began under the Trump administration to bringing the war to an end.
Witkoff made the remarks during a Sunday interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” with host Jake Tapper.
Witkoff said that his meeting last week with Russian President Vladimir Putin was a “positive” conservation that lasted several hours.
Tapper asked about how accurate media reports were that said that Putin had several demands, including the complete surrender of Ukrainian forces in Kursk, international recognition that territory Russia seized now belongs to Russia, limiting Ukraine’s military, and a halt to the flow of Western resources to Ukraine.
Witkoff said that the description that Tapper offered was not “entirely accurate.”
“Back before this visit, there was another visit, and before that visit, the two sides were miles apart in where they were,” he said. “The two sides are today, a lot closer. We had some really positive results coming out of Saudi Arabia, discussions led by our national security advisor, Mike Waltz and our Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.”
“I describe my conversation with President Putin as equally positive,” he continued. “So the two sides have, we’ve narrowed the differences between them, and now we’re sitting at the table. I was with the president all day yesterday. I’ll be with him today. We’re sitting with him discussing how to narrow it even further. That’s how I would describe it.”
Witkoff added that Trump has been involved in “every aspect and dimension of these of these discussions” and that he believes Trump and Putin will have a phone call this week.
WATCH:
Special Envoy @SteveWitkoff tells @JakeTapper his hours-long meeting with Vladimir Putin was “a solutions-based discussion” and says he expects there will be a call between Trump and Putin this week. pic.twitter.com/kVgM7uaziC
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) March 16, 2025
