Witkoff was heard telling Ushakov that he had told Trump that Russia had always wanted a peace deal, and suggested Putin could speak with the president ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s upcoming visit to the White House, telling him it would be useful and help move the peace deal currently under development forward.

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin threatened President Trump not to send Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine in a phone call set in motion by White House special envoy Steve Witkoff ahead of a high-stakes meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Putin called Trump "a smart and experienced person," who can find "a solution" to the Ukraine war. Trump previously vowed to end the war in 24 hours.

In the call, Steve Witkoff privately coached senior Kremlin advisers on how to pitch a Ukraine peace deal to President Trump.

Steve Witkoff told Vladimir Putin’s advisor that Putin should congratulate Trump for the Gaza peace deal and say Russia had supported it and that he respects the president as a man of peace.

Donald Trump still doesn’t seem to have learned a thing about the Russian dictator he calls a friend. He’s tried all kinds of contradictory gambits in pursuit of peace in Ukraine: welcoming Vladimir Putin in Alaska,

President Donald Trump said a meeting between his envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian President Vladimir Putin was “reasonably good” but acknowledged he doesn’t know what the outcome will be after successive rounds of talks over a deal to end the fighting in Ukraine.

A senior House Republican has escalated his criticism of the Trump administration for suggesting Ukraine trade land for peace with Russia.

Russia and its close ally Belarus reached out to Venezuela's embattled leader, Nicolas Maduro, on Thursday as U.S. President Donald Trump ramps up pressure for his removal, raising the possibility he could seek refuge abroad.

Trump’s press secretary suggested Trump was growing weary of process as Ukraine’s president under immense pressure to sign US deal – key US politics stories from 11 December 2025