U.S., Russia to hold talks to halt strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure on March 23 – Witkoff

Trump’s special representative for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, said this in an interview with Fox News.

“The devil is in the details. We have a team traveling to Saudi Arabia, led by our National Security Advisor (Mike Waltz) and Secretary of State (Marco Rubio), and I think we need to work out these details,” he said.

According to him, the ceasefire agreements involve a pause in strikes on critical infrastructure, not just the energy system. He expressed hope that the Ukrainian side would support these initiatives. The negotiations will take place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

“I certainly hope the Ukrainians agree to this. Of course, there are some details we need to discuss, but it will begin on Sunday in Jeddah, and we will have a good conversation to achieve positive results,” Witkoff stated.

It is unknown whether the Ukrainian side will participate in the negotiations. The Russian side has also not officially confirmed its presence at the meeting on March 23.

Commenting on a phone call between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, Witkoff described it as “the unification of two great leaders for the good of humanity.”

“I would commend President Putin for everything he did today during this call to bring his country closer to a final peace agreement. And I would say, and I would give full credit to President Trump, for his choice of peace through strength, for his recognition that there is no alternative, that lasting peace is important for both sides,” said the U.S. special representative.

What the Kremlin says

The spokesperson for the Russian dictator, Dmitry Peskov, stated on March 19 that during the phone conversation the day before, the leaders did not discuss the possibility of a personal meeting.

“Not yesterday. But there is a mutual understanding that such a meeting could take place in the future,” Peskov said in response to journalists’ questions, as reported by RBC.

Trump’s conversation with Putin: what is known

On March 18, U.S. President Donald Trump held a phone conversation with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, which lasted about two hours. Both sides agreed that the path to peace should begin with stopping attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Moscow, however, demanded a halt to Ukraine’s mobilization and the rearmament of the Ukrainian Armed Forces during a possible ceasefire.

Following Trump’s negotiations with Putin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the Kremlin leader had essentially rejected the proposal for a complete ceasefire.