U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to talk this week amid ongoing ceasefire negotiations in the war between Russia and Ukraine, special envoy Steve Witkoff told CNN Sunday morning.
Putin has said he supports but hasn’t yet agreed to a 30-day ceasefire deal brokered by U.S. officials in Saudi Arabia. Ukraine last week backed the agreement.

“I expect that there will be a call with both presidents this week, and we’re also continuing to engage and have conversation with the Ukrainians,” Witkoff said Sunday, referencing Trump and Putin.Putin has repeatedly spoken about the need to eliminate what he describes as the “root causes” of the war that he started and is now into its fourth year. By this, he means NATO’s expansion into Eastern Europe and questioning the very concept of Ukrainian sovereignty. In the news conference, Putin said any ceasefire deal would have to include an end to Western arms supplies to Ukraine.

Witkoff met with Putin in Moscow on Thursday, shortly after the Russian president offered his first official response to the proposed ceasefire.

“It was positive,” Witkoff said of their hours-long conversation. “It was a solutions-based discussion.