Ukraine peace deal hinges on “five territories,” Trump's envoy says after Putin talks

He said this in an interview with Fox News, Bloomberg reports.

According to the American diplomat, last week's talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin were “compelling.” The officials discussed steps that could end the war in Ukraine and possibly lead to new business opportunities.

Following the talks, Steve Witkoff said that Russian President Vladimir Putin made his request to secure a “permanent peace” — a request Witkoff noted “took a while for us to get to.”

The key to the overall agreement, according to Witkoff, revolves around the “five territories.” “This peace deal is about these so-called five territories, but there’s so much more to it.”

He added that “we might be on the verge of something that would be very, very important for the world at large.”

• U.S. Special Representative Steve Witkoff arrived in Russia and held a more than four-hour meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg. The White House described the visit as a “step toward a ceasefire” in Ukraine.
• Meanwhile, during talks with the United States in Saudi Arabia, the Russian delegation reportedly pushed for formal control over four Ukrainian regions: Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson.