White House hints at economic cooperation with Russia following Witkoff's visit to Putin

According to her, during Witkoff's visit to Russia, a "productive conversation" took place.

"There is incentive for Russia to end this war, and perhaps that could be economic partnerships with the United States. But we need to see a ceasefire first, and the president and the presidential envoy, Witkoff made that very clear to the Russians," Levitt said.

Witkoff and Putin's negotiations

Last Friday, US special envoy Steve Witkoff visited Moscow. There, he met with Russian Ambassador for Investments Kirill Dmitriev. Later, he had nearly five hours of talks with Vladimir Putin.

Reuters later reported that, according to Witkoff, the quickest way to peace in Ukraine could supposedly be granting Russia ownership of four eastern Ukrainian regions. This is what he likely told US President Donald Trump.

Today, The Wall Street Journal reported that several advisors to President Trump urged him to be more cautious about Moscow's statements regarding a ceasefire. However, Trump "still supports envoy Steve Witkoff, who believes that Putin wants to make peace after meeting with him twice in Moscow."

Additionally, after meeting with President Vladimir Putin, Witkoff stated that the "key" to ending the war in Ukraine lies in the so-called "five territories."

"This peace agreement is about the so-called five territories, but there's a lot more to it. There are security protocols, there's Article 5 of NATO, a lot of details. It's a complicated situation, rooted in some real problematic things that are happening between the two countries," he said.