Witkoff says major progress made toward ending war in Ukraine

US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said the latest negotiations aimed at ending the war in Ukraine had produced substantial progress, speaking during a Cabinet meeting.

“We think we made a lot of progress,” Witkoff told officials.

His comments followed US-brokered consultations between Russia and Ukraine held in the United Arab Emirates. Another round of talks is scheduled for Sunday, February 1, once again in Abu Dhabi.

According to Witkoff, discussions will resume in about a week, and he stressed that positive developments are unfolding between the parties involved in what he referred to as a land-related agreement.

“Lots of good things are happening between the counterparties discussing the land deal,” he said.

Witkoff added that negotiators have nearly finalised two major elements of a broader settlement — a security protocol and an economic framework designed to support Ukraine’s postwar recovery and long-term stability.

“We have a security protocol agreement that's largely finished, a prosperity agreement that's largely, largely finished. And I think the people of Ukraine are now hopeful and expecting that we're going to deliver a peace deal sometime soon,” he said.

In a separate exchange during the Cabinet meeting, Trump said he had personally asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to refrain from launching attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities for a week.

“I personally asked President Putin not to fire into Kyiv and various towns for a week, and he agreed to do that,” Trump said, attributing the request to “extraordinary cold.”

“It was very nice. A lot of people said, ‘Don't waste the call, you're not going to get that.’ And he did it,” Trump added.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently said that neither Witkoff nor Jared Kushner will take part in the upcoming round of negotiations aimed at ending the conflict. He noted that the next meeting will be held solely between representatives of Ukraine and Russia.

Last weekend, the first trilateral talks involving Ukraine, Russia, and the US were held in the UAE. Washington described the discussions positively, while Kyiv also characterised the talks in the Emirates as substantive. 

By Tamilla Hasanova