The Trump administration and the Kremlin intend to schedule a conversation between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin once U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff briefs Trump on his meeting with the Russian leader.
Putin and Witkoff met in Moscow on Thursday to discuss the United States's proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war, which Kyiv has already signed off on.
"The exact time of the conversation between the two presidents has not yet been agreed upon. However, after Mr. Witkoff delivers all the details received in Moscow to his head of state, we will decide on the timing of the conversation," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.
"Both parties recognize that this dialogue is needed," Peskov added. "Certainly, there are reasons to feel this cautious optimism.”
Trump said on Truth Social Friday morning that the Putin-Witkoff meeting was "very good and productive" and said there's "a very good chance" that the war "can finally come to an end."
The president has made it well known that he wants Russia's war in Ukraine to come to a quick end, though it's unclear if he can push Putin to agree the same way he did to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Putin and Trump spoke over the phone on Feb. 12, with the U.S. leader describing it as a "lengthy and highly productive" conversation. The two sides "agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately."
Earlier this week, U.S. and Ukrainian diplomats met in Saudi Arabia. After the meeting, they issued a joint statement announcing Ukraine had "expressed readiness to accept the U.S. proposal" for an immediate 30-day ceasefire pending Russia's agreement and compliance.
The announcement put pressure on Putin, now standing clearly as the only impediment to ending the war that he started more than three years ago.
The Russian leader shared his first public comments on the proposal on Thursday before he met with Witkoff. Putin offered "words of gratitude" to Trump for the proposal and said that while they "agree with the propositions to stop hostilities," any deal would need to "remove the initial causes of the crisis."
His vague comments are likely a reference to his previous justifications for the war, one of which is the argument that NATO has expanded eastward toward Russia's borders and poses a threat. NATO is a defensive alliance that expanded closer to Russia's borders by adding two new members, Finland and Sweden, after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
While Ukraine has wanted NATO membership, the alliance has not offered it to the embattled country. Last year, however, NATO agreed that Ukraine was on the "irreversible" path toward ascension into the alliance. Trump has already indicated that he does not see that happening.
Putin also raised the possibility that Ukraine's military could regroup, resupply, and rearm once the deal has lapsed, which has long been a concern held by Ukraine and European nations about Russia. Russia has broken several previous iterations of ceasefire agreements.
The Russian leader "communicated information and additional signals to President Trump," Peskov added.
Zelensky argued on Friday on his Telegram account that Russia “deliberately sets conditions that only complicate and prolong the process” and “is the only party that wants the war to continue and diplomacy to fail.”
It's unclear when a ceasefire could be implemented, but the conditions on the battlefield favor Russia.
Russian forces have made significant ground in Kursk, the region of Russia that Ukrainian troops have occupied since last August, in recent weeks.
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"Number one is what we're going to do with this sector of breached state border if we stop the hostilities for 30 days. ... Will that mean that everybody there is going to retreat without fighting?" Putin said. "Are we going to have to let them go after all the atrocities they have perpetrated against civilians? Or will the Ukrainian leadership command them to lower their weapons, drop their weapons, and just surrender? How is it going to look? That's still unclear."
Trump, in his Truth Social post, seemingly referenced the unfolding situation in Kursk: "AT THIS VERY MOMENT, THOUSANDS OF UKRAINIAN TROOPS ARE COMPLETELY SURROUNDED BY THE RUSSIAN MILITARY, AND IN A VERY BAD AND VULNERABLE POSITION. I have strongly requested to President Putin that their lives be spared. This would be a horrible massacre, one not seen since World War II."