Trump's envoy Witkoff announces meeting with Ukrainian team in US this week
Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump’s Special Envoy for the Middle East, has said he will meet with Ukrainian representatives in New York this week.
Source: Reuters; Radio Liberty's Ukrainian Service; Suspilne, a Ukrainian public broadcaster
Details: Witkoff said that the US side would hold meetings this week on settling not only the Russo-Ukrainian war but also other conflicts, including the war in Gaza and tensions between Israel and Iran.
Witkoff said he hopes that these conflicts could be resolved by the end of this year.
He confirmed that he would meet Ukrainian representatives in New York, adding: "I'm meeting with the Ukrainians this week. So I will be meeting with them this week in New York, and that's a big signal."
It is essential that the US is in daily talks with Russian officials, the envoy noted.
Previously:
- US President Donald Trump said Washington would launch an "economic war" against Russia if it avoids negotiations on ending its war against Ukraine.
- Trump also said that the US continues supplying weapons to NATO allies who are currently providing military aid to Ukraine.
Background:
- Following a meeting with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska, Trump said he had reached an agreement with him on a territory exchange and that "President Zelenskyy has to agree".
- Axios reported that Trump told Ukraine and European leaders that Putin wanted to discuss the terms of ending the war immediately, rather than a pause in hostilities, and Trump considers this preferable.
- According to Bloomberg, during talks with European leaders and Zelenskyy, Trump said Putin still demands that Ukrainian troops withdraw from all of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts but is prepared to freeze the front lines in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts. Zelenskyy rejected this.
- On 17 August, Reuters released an outline of Russia’s conditions for ending the war, which Putin presented to Trump during their meeting in Alaska.
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