Trump: We are closer than ever to ending the war in Ukraine

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US President Donald Trump expressed his belief on Wednesday that the end of the Russian-Ukrainian war is closer than ever before, as he thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin for the release of an imprisoned American citizen.

Trump told reporters at the White House: “I was talking in recent days with Vladimir Putin about settling his war with Ukraine, which is an issue that I believe we are getting closer to resolving, and perhaps we are now closer than ever before.”

The US President had previously made similar statements, but several rounds of talks, in addition to a summit he held with Putin in Alaska last year, did not succeed in ending the war in Ukraine, with Moscow sticking to its demands.

This comes as US envoy Steve Witkoff announced on Wednesday that the talks he held with Putin were “constructive,” adding that “there is important work” that still needs to be done, at a time when the Kremlin downplayed the new approaches issued by Kiev and the Europeans to end the conflict in Ukraine.

The American envoy said in a post on social media, “The discussions were constructive, and will continue with tripartite talks between the United States, Russia, and Ukraine at the technical level.”

He added: "Although there is still important work to be done, President (Donald) Trump remains committed to ending this war."