As Putin and Witkoff prepare to meet, White House is ‘very optimistic’

LONDON — The White Home mentioned it’s “very optimistic” forward of particular envoy Steve Witkoff’s assembly in Moscow on Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as U.S. officers proceed their push to finish Russia’s warfare towards Ukraine.

The high-stakes sit-down follows a sequence of conferences between high U.S. and Ukrainian officers, throughout which the events sought to revise the unique peace-plan proposal offered by the Trump administration to Ukraine final month.

Witkoff and different high U.S. officers — together with President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Secretary of State Marco Rubio — met on Sunday in Florida with a Ukrainian delegation to discover a deal to finish the warfare that Ukraine and Russia would possibly settle for.

“I feel the administration feels very optimistic,” White Home press secretary Karoline Leavitt instructed reporters on Monday, following the Florida assembly. “They’d superb talks with the Ukrainians in Florida. And now, after all, Particular Envoy Witkoff is on his technique to Russia.”

The Kremlin on Monday mentioned a gathering between Witkoff and Putin was scheduled for Tuesday.

“The president will maintain a number of closed-door conferences at this time in preparation for the Russian-American contacts,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov instructed reporters in Moscow on Monday.

There may be little expectation Putin will comply with a deal. The Russian chief has already signaled he won’t compromise, final week making hardline remarks the place he repeated his calls for that Ukraine withdraw from territory he claims and saying it’s “pointless” to barter with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Putin on Monday claimed with out proof that Russian forces had taken management of two Ukrainian cities the place intense combating has been occurring for weeks within the japanese a part of the nation, a transfer meant maybe to burnish the notion of Russia’s main place on the battlefield.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was circuitously concerned with the talks in Florida, met on Monday with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. He landed on Tuesday in Dublin, the place he is anticipated to fulfill with Taoiseach Micheál Martin, the Irish prime minister.

“Our engagement at this time was substantive and vital — above all, targeted on the steps that convey a simply peace nearer,” he mentioned on social media after his assembly with Macron. “Now actions are wanted that can really change the course of the warfare and lead it to a simply peace, to an actual finish — the type we’d like. And it’s important that every one companions who can genuinely assist accomplish that.”

As Zelenskyy pushed for European unity towards Russian aggression, members of his delegation in Florida had been sending updates on what was being mentioned. He mentioned on Monday that there have been nonetheless a number of “powerful points” to work by way of within the negotiations, however didn’t elaborate. Ukraine’s potential relinquishment of a few of its territory to Russia was regarded as a part of the talks.

Zelenskyy on Monday additionally mentioned he, Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer had once more been briefed by Witkoff and the pinnacle of the Kyiv delegation, Rustem Umerov, the secretary of Ukraine’s Nationwide Safety and Protection Council. 

“Over two very productive days in america, we held many hours of conferences and negotiations,” Umerov mentioned in a separate social media replace on Monday. “We achieved vital progress, though some points nonetheless require additional refinement.”

Talking on the White Home on Monday, Leavitt didn’t element what the U.S. anticipated to occur in the course of the negotiations in Moscow, as an alternative deferring to those that can be on the assembly.

“We have put factors on paper. These factors have been very a lot refined,” she mentioned. “However as for the main points, I’ll let the negotiators negotiate. However we do really feel fairly good, and we’re hopeful that this work can lastly come to an finish.”

ABC Information’ Emily Chang and Patrick Reevell contributed to this report.