White House says ‘very optimistic’ on chances of Ukraine deal

WASHINGTON — The White House said Monday 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.” Witkoff, a business friend of Trump who has become his roving global fixer, met Ukrainian negotiators on Sunday alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio and again on Monday. The Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov said the talks “achieved significant progress” but that some issues remained unresolved. President Volodymyr Zelensky, while trying carefully not to anger 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. p

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