White House Asserts Ukraine Peace 'never been closer'

US President Donald Trump is committed to negotiating an end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to the White House. On Monday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that a peace deal to resolve the Ukraine conflict has...

White House Asserts Ukraine Peace 'never been closer'
US President Donald Trump is committed to negotiating an end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to the White House.

On Monday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that a peace deal to resolve the Ukraine conflict has “never been closer.” This announcement comes ahead of an upcoming phone conversation between US President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

During a briefing with reporters, Leavitt likened the negotiations to a football game. “We are on the 10th yard line of peace, and we’ve never been closer to a peace deal than we are in this moment. And the president, as you know, is determined to get one done,” she remarked.

Trump indicated that he intends to discuss territorial control and the “dividing up certain assets” with Putin during their call on Tuesday. Additionally, the leaders are likely to talk about the 30-day ceasefire that the US has proposed.

Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, who met with Putin in Moscow last week, conveyed to CNN’s Jake Tapper that “the two sides today are a lot closer” to reaching an agreement. He argued that the US had “narrowed the differences” between Moscow and Kiev.

Ukraine has expressed support for a temporary ceasefire but has reaffirmed that it will not give up its claims to Russian territory, including Crimea. Last week, Putin stated that he supports the ceasefire proposal in principle but emphasized that it must address the “original causes of the crisis” and not allow Kiev to regroup its forces.

Frederick R Cook contributed to this article for TROIB News