US special presidential envoy Steve Witkoff has said Washington hopes to see the war in Ukraine resolved by the end of 2025, pointing to Moscow’s “peace proposal on the table” and ongoing talks with both Russian and Ukrainian representatives.
Speaking during a cabinet meeting with President Donald Trump on Tuesday, Witkoff said he would be “having meetings all this week” on Ukraine and other global conflicts, adding, “we hope to settle them before the end of this year.”
During an interview, Witkoff noted that while Trump had expressed frustration with both Moscow and Kiev, the Russian side had at least “put a peace proposal on the table.”
He acknowledged that territorial concessions “may not be something that the Ukrainians can take,” but argued the Trump administration had brought the sides closer to an agreement than ever before.
“There’s a peace proposal on the table,” Witkoff reiterated. “We’re at this place where we think the end is in sight... we have technical teams working on it and we’re hopeful that by the end of this year, and maybe quite a bit sooner, we actually can find the ingredients to get to that peace deal.”
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According to Witkoff, Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed a clear desire to end the conflict and discussed Moscow’s position in depth with Trump during their historic Alaska summit earlier this month.
No details of a potential agreement were disclosed, though Moscow has long insisted that a sustainable settlement requires Kiev to renounce NATO membership, undergo demilitarisation and denazification, and accept the new territorial realities.
This includes recognition of Crimea, Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye as part of Russia, following referendums held in 2014 and 2022.
Witkoff stressed that any decision on territorial concessions would rest with Ukraine, suggesting the matter would be tied to long-term security guarantees. He confirmed he would meet Ukrainian officials in New York this week and underlined that Washington remains in daily contact with Moscow.
Recent reports have suggested that ongoing discussions include the possibility of Kiev ceding its remaining positions in Donbass in exchange for yet-to-be-defined Western commitments.
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