White House clarifies Trump’s claim: Envoy, not Trump, spoke to Putin

Amid confusion surrounding a social media post by US President Donald Trump, the White House issued a clarification on March 14, stating that US special envoy Steve Witkoff, not Trump, had spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump had shared a post on his Truth Social account, claiming he had held a conversation with Putin and urged the Russian leader to “spare lives,” Caliber.Az reports per Russian media.

 In his post, Trump wrote, “I have strongly requested to President Putin that their lives be spared.” He went on to describe the conversation as “very good and productive,” and suggested that it might help end the ongoing war in Ukraine.

“We had very good and productive discussions with President Vladimir Putin of Russia yesterday, and there is a very good chance that this horrible, bloody war can finally come to an end,” Trump stated. However, shortly after, the White House clarified that it was in fact US special envoy Steve Witkoff, not Trump, who had the phone conversation with President Putin.

The confusion arose after Trump’s post, which suggested that he personally had urged Putin to spare the lives of Ukrainian soldiers who are surrounded by Russian forces. This came as Ukraine agreed to a US-brokered 30-day ceasefire during negotiations in Saudi Arabia, though the Kremlin has yet to formally accept the deal. Putin voiced support for the proposal in principle but raised concerns about Ukrainian troops in Russia’s partially occupied Kursk region.

“There will only be two options: surrender or die,” Putin said in a press conference on March 13. He added that Ukrainian troops captured in Kursk would be treated as “terrorists.”

Trump appeared to reference these remarks in his post, saying, “I have strongly requested to President Putin that their lives be spared. This would be a horrible massacre, one not seen since World War II. God bless them all.”

The statement from the White House came after heightened tensions, with the US responding to the Kremlin’s stance by tightening sanctions on Russia. This move included allowing a key license for energy payments via Russian banks to expire.

The Kremlin has not yet provided a formal response to the ceasefire deal, and it remains to be seen when or if a face-to-face meeting between Putin and Trump will take place. According to the Kremlin, the timing will depend on the delivery of Russia’s response to the White House via US special envoy Steve Witkoff.