Trump's special Mideast envoy claims Putin wants ‘permanent peace’

ANKARA

The US’ special Mideast envoy said Russian President Vladimir Putin wants “permanent peace” in Ukraine.

“Putin’s request is to have a permanent peace here. So, beyond the ceasefire, we got an answer to that,” Steve Witkoff told Fox News on Monday. “It took a while for us to get to this place.”

Witkoff said the peace agreement being discussed includes “five territories,” referring to Ukrainian regions under Russian control, but noted that the talks also cover broader issues such as Moscow’s insistence that Ukraine drop its bid to join NATO and efforts to boost trade between the US and Russia.

Putin held a meeting Friday on Ukraine with Witkoff in St. Petersburg, which concluded after nearly five hours, the Kremlin announced.

It marked Witkoff’s third trip to Russia, following his March 13 visit to Moscow where he held talks with senior Russian officials before meeting Putin.

Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, and following the start of the war in 2022, it also annexed Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions.
Iran-US talks

Witkoff touched on talks between Iran and the US in Oman and underlined that negotiations would focus on reducing uranium enrichment levels rather than completely dismantling Iran’s nuclear program.

“US President Donald Trump is seeking to limit Iran’s uranium enrichment to 3.67%,” he said

The indirect negotiations, mediated by Oman, follow a prolonged stalemate and come amid rising tensions between Tehran and Washington, particularly after Trump’s reelection as US president.

Led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on the Iranian side, and Witkoff for the Americans, Tehran said the first round was held in “a constructive atmosphere based on mutual respect.”

The talks are primarily focused on Iran’s nuclear program, as the Trump administration continues to ramp up pressure on Tehran to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

Trump recently threatened Iran with military strikes and secondary sanctions if it failed to reach a new deal with the US on its nuclear program -- one that will replace a deal reached in 2015.

While Iran has refused to engage in direct talks, it agreed to hold indirect negotiations mediated by Oman.