LONDON — The White House said it is “very optimistic” ahead of special envoy Steve Witkoff’s meeting in Moscow on Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as U.S. officials continue to push for an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The high-stakes meeting follows a series of meetings between senior U.S. and Ukrainian officials, during which the sides attempted to review the original peace plan proposal presented by the Trump administration to Ukraine last month.
Witkoff and other top U.S. officials, including President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, met in Florida on Sunday with a Ukrainian delegation to find a deal to end the war that Ukraine and Russia could accept.
In this group photo distributed by Russian state agency Sputnik, Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with the head of the Russian penitentiary service at the Kremlin in Moscow on December 1, 2025.
Gavriil Grigorov/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
“I think the administration is feeling very optimistic,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Monday after the meeting in Florida. “They had very good conversations with the Ukrainians in Florida. And now, of course, the special envoy Witkoff “He’s on his way to Russia.”
The Kremlin said on Monday that a meeting between Witkoff and Putin was scheduled for Tuesday.
“The president will hold several closed-door meetings today in preparation for Russian-American contacts,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow on Monday.
There is little expectation Putin will accept a deal. The Russian leader has already signaled he will not budge and made hardline comments last week. where he reiterated his demands that Ukraine withdraw from the territory it claims and said it is “useless” to negotiate with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin attends talks in Bishkek on November 26, 2025; and White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff at the White House in Washington on August 26, 2025.
Alexander Kazakov and Mandel Ngan/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Putin claimed on Monday without evidence that Russian forces had taken control of two Ukrainian cities where heavy fighting has occurred for weeks in the eastern part of the country, a move intended perhaps to burnish the perception of Russia’s leadership position on the battlefield.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was not directly involved in the talks in Florida, met with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Monday. He landed on Tuesday in Dublin, where he is expected to meet Taoiseach Micheál Martin, the Irish prime minister.
“Our commitment today was substantial and important, above all, focused on the steps that bring a just peace closer,” he said on social media after his meeting with Macron. “Actions are needed now that will really change the course of the war and lead it towards a just peace, towards a real end, of the kind we need. And it is important that all partners who can really help do so.”
As Zelenskyy pushed for European unity against Russian aggression, members of his delegation in Florida sent updates on what was being discussed. He said Monday that there were still several “difficult issues” to resolve in the negotiations, but did not elaborate. Ukraine’s possible ceding of some of its territory to Russia was thought to be part of the talks.
Taoiseach Micheal Martin, center left, speaks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and First Lady Olena Zelenska as they arrive at Dublin Airport for their visit to Ireland, Monday, December 1, 2025.
Kilcoyse/AP.
Zelenskyy also said on Monday that he, Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer had been briefed again by Witkoff and the head of the kyiv delegation, Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council.
“During two very productive days in the United States, we held many hours of meetings and negotiations,” Umerov said in a separate update on social media on Monday. “We have made significant progress, although some issues still require further refinement.”
Speaking at the White House on Monday, Leavitt did not detail what the United States expected to happen during the negotiations in Moscow, instead deferring to those who would be at the meeting.
“We’ve put points in writing. Those points have been very refined,” he said. “But as for the details, I will leave it to the negotiators to negotiate. But we feel pretty good and we are hopeful that this work can finally come to an end.”
ABC News’ Emily Chang and Patrick Reevell contributed to this report.
