Trump says US and Russia to hold imminent talks on Ukraine – Reuters
US President Donald Trump has announced that an American delegation will meet with their Russian counterparts “today or tomorrow” (March 11-12), Reuters reported on Tuesday.
The statement follows the conclusion of negotiations between the American and Ukrainian delegations in Saudi Arabia, during which Kiev agreed to a 30-day ceasefire and Washington committed to resuming intelligence sharing with Ukraine.
“That’s a total ceasefire,” Trump told reporters outside the White House on Tuesday after the talks. “Ukraine has agreed to it. And hopefully Russia will agree to it.”
Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is expected to travel to Moscow in the coming days to discuss the Ukraine conflict with Russian President Vladirmir Putin. But neither US nor Russian officials have publicly confirmed the trip or its exact date so far.
“We’re going to meet with them [the Russians] later on today and tomorrow and hopefully we’ll be able to [work] out a deal,” Trump continued. “I think the ceasefire is very important. If we can get Russia to do it, that’ll be great. If we can’t we just keep going on and people are gonna get killed, lots of people.”
Russia has yet to issue an official response to the statements following the US-Ukraine talks in Jeddah. Moscow has previously indicated that any temporary ceasefire deal is unacceptable, arguing it would only allow Kiev to regroup and rearm. Putin stated in January that Russia is seeking a long-term peace based on respect and the legitimate interests of all people living in the region.
