White House says very optimistic on chances of Ukraine deal

The White House said Monday (December 1, 2025) it was “very optimistic” of a deal being reached to end the Russia-Ukraine war, as U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff heads to Moscow for talks with President Vladimir Putin.

“I think the administration feels very optimistic,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.

She said that President Donald Trump and his team “have been working so hard on this effort, and they all really want to see this war come to an end.”

“Just yesterday… they had very good talks with the Ukrainians in Florida and now of course Special Envoy Witkoff is on his way to Russia.”

Mr. Witkoff, a business friend of Mr. Trump who has become his roving global fixer, met Ukrainian negotiators on Sunday (November 30, 2025) alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio and again on Monday (December 1).

The Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov said the talks “achieved significant progress” but that some issues remained unresolved.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, while trying carefully not to anger Mr. Trump, has refused U.S.-backed calls for Ukraine to cede hard-fought territory that Russia has not been able to seize.

A U.S. plan, also presented to the Ukrainians a week earlier in Geneva without their input, would have seen Kyiv withdraw from its eastern Donetsk region and the United States de facto recognize the Donetsk, Crimea and Lugansk regions as Russian.

The United States in turn would offer some form of guarantees to Ukraine, but the steps would stop short of Kyiv’s ambition to join NATO, the transatlantic alliance that considers an attack on one an attack on all.

Washington pared back the original plan following criticism from Kyiv and Europe, but the current contents remain unclear.

Mr. Witkoff has faced criticism in the past for his travels to Moscow, where he has entered talks without the usual professional staff that would be routine for U.S. diplomacy with the veteran Russian leader.

The envoy will be joined in Russia by Jared Kushner, Mr. Trump’s son-in-law who has helped spearhead his diplomacy on the Middle East.

As Mr. Witkoff heads to Russia, Mr. Zelenskyy has been seeking support from European allies.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday (December 1) with Mr. Zelenskyy that any plan to end the war can only be finalised with the involvement of Ukraine and European powers.

Mr. Zelenskyy for his part warned not to let Russia “perceive anything it could consider as a reward for this war.”

NATO foreign ministers will also meet this week in Brussels for an annual meeting, but U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is skipping the talks, instead sending his deputy Christopher Landau.