Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff to meet Vladimir Putin on Tuesday for Ukraine peace talks
The talks will focus on the 19-point peace plan to end the war in Ukraine. Though Ukraine has expressed its willingness to accept the revised proposals, Russia has not made its position clear yet.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff shake hands during their meeting at the Kremlin, in Moscow, on Aug. 6, 2025. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)
Steve Witkoff, the special envoy of US President Donald Trump, will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, the Kremlin has said. “The meeting with Witkoff is planned for tomorrow,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in a briefing on Monday, adding that it will take place “in the second half of the day.”
Witkoff Putin meeting
The talks will focus on the 19-point peace plan to end the war in Ukraine. Though Ukraine has expressed its willingness to accept the revised proposals, Russia has not made its position clear yet.
US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, President Vladimir Putin’s envoy Kirill Dmitriev, and Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, attend talks with Putin at the Kremlin, in Moscow, on April 25, 2025. (Kristina Kormilitsyna, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters afterward that the session with the Ukrainian team in Florida was productive, but work remains in the search for a peace deal.
“It’s not just about the terms that ends fighting,” Rubio said. “It’s also about the terms that set up Ukraine for long-term prosperity. … I think we built on that today, but there’s more work to be done.”
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Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, left, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, center, and Jared Kushner attend a meeting with Ukrainian officials Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, in Hallandale Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)
Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine’s security council, responded to Rubio by expressing his country’s appreciation for US efforts.
“US is hearing us,” Umerov said before the meeting. “US is supporting us. US is working beside us.”
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said the revised plan could be “workable,” while Russian President Vladimir Putin called it a possible “basis” for a future peace agreement.
On Sunday, Trump said, “There’s a good chance we can make a deal.”
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Despite the peace talks picking up momentum, Putin implied last week that he will fight as long as it takes to achieve his goals, saying that he will stop only when Ukrainian troops withdraw from all four Ukrainian regions that Russia illegally annexed in 2022 and still doesn’t fully control.
“If they don’t withdraw, we’ll achieve this by force. That’s all,” he said.
Zelenskyy meets Macron
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy met with French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday at the Elysée presidential palace in Paris.
French President Emmanuel Macron welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Monday, Dec. 1, 2025 before a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris. (Photo: AP)
Ahead of his meeting with Zelenskyy on Monday, Macron’s office said the two leaders would discuss conditions for a “fair and lasting peace.”
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Last week, Macron, who has firmly backed Kyiv, had sought to counterbalance elements of the US peace plan that are seen to favor Russia — urged Western allies to bring “rock-solid” guarantees to Ukraine in case a ceasefire or a peace deal was to be reached. He has endorsed deploying a “reassurance force” on land, at sea and in the air to help ensure the country’s security.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff shake hands during their meeting at the Kremlin, in Moscow, on Aug. 6, 2025. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)
