LONDON — The White House said it was “very optimistic” as special envoy Steve Witkoff traveled to Moscow for a scheduled meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, part of U.S. efforts to find a way to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The visit follows intensive discussions between senior U.S. and Ukrainian officials aimed at revising a peace-plan proposal the Trump administration offered to Ukraine last month. Witkoff and other U.S. officials, including Jared Kushner and Sen. Marco Rubio, met Sunday in Florida with a Ukrainian delegation to explore terms that both Kyiv and Moscow might accept.
“I think the administration feels very optimistic,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Monday after the Florida talks. She said the groups had “very good talks with the Ukrainians in Florida” and noted that Witkoff was en route to Russia.
The Kremlin confirmed Monday that Witkoff would meet Putin on Tuesday. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the president would hold several closed-door sessions to prepare for the Russian-American contacts.
Despite the scheduled engagement, expectations that Putin will accept a compromise remain low. The Russian leader has reiterated demands that Ukraine withdraw from territory he claims and recently described negotiations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “pointless.” On Monday, Putin claimed — a point Western reports say lacks supporting evidence — that Russian forces had taken control of two Ukrainian cities in the east, a statement that may be intended to highlight Russia’s perceived battlefield advantages.
Zelenskyy, who was not directly involved in the Florida talks, met Monday with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris before traveling to Dublin, where he is expected to meet Irish Prime Minister Michéal Martin. After meeting Macron, Zelenskyy called the discussion “substantive and important — above all, focused on the steps that bring a just peace closer,” and urged partners to take actions that would materially change the course of the war and help secure a just, lasting resolution.
Members of the Ukrainian delegation who traveled to Florida reported progress but acknowledged difficult issues remain. Reports indicated that Ukraine’s potential ceding of some territory to Russia was among the topics discussed. Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov said Monday that after “two very productive days in the United States, we held many hours of meetings and negotiations” and that significant progress had been made, though some points still need refinement.
Leavitt said the U.S. had “put points on paper” and that those points had been refined, but she declined to provide details, saying she would “let the negotiators negotiate.” She added the administration felt “quite good” about the talks and expressed hope the work could lead to an end to the conflict.
ABC News’ Emily Chang and Patrick Reevell contributed to this report.