US hints at Ukraine concessions ahead of Trump-Putin call to discuss ceasefire



US officials on Sunday expressed optimism that a Ukraine-Russia ceasefire deal could be reached in โ€œweeksโ€, with US President Donald Trump expected to soon discuss the issue with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

Trumpโ€™s envoy Steve Witkoff, who held meetings for several hours with Putin days ago, told CNN in a televised interview: โ€œI think the two presidents are going to have a really good and positive discussion this week.โ€

โ€œThis is a highly, very complicated situation, and yet weโ€™re bridging the gap between two sides,โ€ he said, adding that Trump โ€œreally expects there to be some sort of deal in the coming weeks, maybe, and I believe thatโ€™s the case.โ€

But officials also hinted strongly that Ukraine will likely have to make some major concessions if a deal is to be reached.

The United States this week proposed a halt in fighting in the war after talks in Saudi Arabia, with Kyiv accepting the proposal.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told CBS on Sunday that his talks a day earlier with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov were โ€œpromisingโ€, adding, that โ€œhopefully weโ€™ll have something to announce at some point fairly soonโ€.

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