U.S. mediation in the dialogue between Ukraine and Russia over the next three weeks could create conditions for a face-to-face meeting between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The U.S. president’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said this in an interview with Fox News.
According to him, he and Jared Kushner expect that the initiatives they have put forward will help narrow the gap between the two sides in the foreseeable future and could potentially lead to direct talks at the highest level. “Jared [Kushner] and I are optimistic and hope that the initiatives we’ve proposed will help bring the parties closer over the next three weeks—and may even lead to a summit between Zelenskyy and President Putin,” Witkoff said.
He did not rule out that such talks could take the form of a trilateral meeting involving Donald Trump, stressing that the final decision would rest with the U.S. president himself. “I think he would not want to take part in a meeting unless he was confident he could see it through and achieve the best possible outcome <…> I hope that in the coming weeks you will hear good news,” the special envoy said.
Responding to the host’s question about contacts with Vladimir Putin, Witkoff said that, in his assessment, the Russian president had always been as straightforward with him as possible. “And when I say this, I get hit with criticism—but it’s an accurate statement. He clearly spelled out his ‘red lines’ to me,” he said.
Witkoff also addressed criticism over the fact that he had met with Putin eight times, stressing that negotiations are impossible without understanding the other side’s position. “You can’t strike a deal with the other side if you don’t understand where it’s coming from. I needed to understand his motivation, his objectives, and so on,” Trump’s special envoy explained.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has previously and repeatedly said he is ready for a face-to-face meeting with Putin in any neutral country. The Kremlin, for its part, has insisted that such a meeting could take place only in Moscow, saying it is prepared to guarantee Zelenskyy’s security. The Ukrainian president rejected that proposal. “I can just as well invite him [Putin] to Kyiv—let him come,” he said.
After another round of talks held in Geneva on February 17–18, Zelenskyy said he had instructed his team to “raise the issue” of a personal meeting with the Russian president. He said this format of negotiations is, in his view, the most effective for “achieving a breakthrough on territorial issues.” Control over the Donbas remains one of the core points of contention.