Trump says end of Russia-Ukraine war is 'closer than ever'
US President Donald Trump said that ending the Russia-Ukraine war is "closer than ever before", Suspilne reported, citing his statement.
"The other day I spoke with Vladimir Putin — I mentioned it before — about ending his war with Ukraine; I think we are getting close to it. By the way, maybe we are now closer to it than ever before," Trump said.
He also commented on Russia's release from prison of the American Stephen Gabbard on 21 October. Trump said he asked Putin to release him, and Putin agreed. Trump says Russia demanded nothing in return.
Background: Witkoff's talks
Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff, after meeting President Volodymyr Zelensky in Oslo and Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg, said discussions on ending the war will continue in a trilateral format at the technical level. During the meeting with Putin on Wednesday Witkoff called the Russian leader a "humanist".
The talks in Russia began with the release of Gabbard, an American teacher who had been held in Russia for more than four years. The 74-year-old retired teacher from Michigan had been recognised by the US State Department as wrongfully detained. Zelensky said Russia supports a trilateral meeting at the level of teams, with dates still being agreed.
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