We are close to discussing permanent ceasefire - Witkoff
The United States is convinced that the current goal of the peace talks is to achieve a 30-day temporary ceasefire, during which the parties will be able to discuss a permanent ceasefire.
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said this in an interview with American blogger and host Tucker Carlson, Censor.NET reports with reference to Ukrinform.
"The ultimate goal is a 30-day ceasefire, during which we will discuss a permanent ceasefire. We are not far from that, but the 30-day ceasefire is where we have to find out what the conditions are on the battlefield, which is why I started with Kursk," Witkoff said.
In particular, he repeated Russian narratives that part of the Ukrainian military in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation is allegedly surrounded.
Witkoff also said that he does not believe that the conversation between US and Russian Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin was a failure, as Russia allegedly agreed to a truce in the energy infrastructure sector.
"This means that Russia will not attack Ukraine's energy infrastructure, and Ukraine will not attack Russia's energy infrastructure. They have never talked about this before. And now they are talking. They have never before discussed the renewal of the moratorium on naval attacks in the Black Sea - on Ukraine's attacks on Russian ships, Russia's attacks on Ukrainian ships," the US President's special envoy said.
Witkoff noted that there are dozens of clashes on the frontline, so the Ukrainian and Russian sides should discuss the conditions for their cessation.
He added that technical teams have been meeting in Jeddah since Monday.
"There's a lot of good, positive talk coming out of Russia about their willingness to look at all these different things. And Zelenskyy had a great conversation with the president (Trump - Ed.) after President Putin (and Trump - Ed.) talked the next day. And I think that shows that they have some flexibility in how they think about how to end this conflict," said Witkoff.
He noted that he does not want to sound like an "eternal optimist," but he is very optimistic that the United States will be able to reconcile both sides.
The special envoy also emphasized that the United States is focused on the outcome of the negotiations and an agreement that the Ukrainian people can live with.
"I want Ukraine to get out of this. I want Russia to get out of this. There will be various Senate approvals that we may need here. I mean, this is a political system. We want everyone to be satisfied to some extent... with an agreement that everyone can live with," Witkoff said.
As reported, Witkoff said earlier that the moratorium on naval strikes in the Black Sea would be implemented sometime next week.
