The US President's special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff confirmed that talks with Russia on ending the war in Ukraine will take place next Sunday in the Saudi city of Jeddah.A team is heading to Saudi Arabia, led by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Witkoff said in an interview with Fox News.Witkoff's statements came after a phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump on Tuesday, during which the two leaders agreed to halt mutual attacks against energy infrastructure in both countries, but without reaching an agreement on a full ceasefire.Putin stressed that preventing an escalation of the conflict requires halting foreign military aid to Kyiv and refraining from providing it with intelligence.These developments come amid shared optimism between Moscow and Washington regarding the possibility of progress in talks to resolve the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, following a series of recent indirect meetings between officials from both sides.About two weeks ago, the US President proposed a one-month ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, which Kyiv agreed to during US-Ukrainian talks in Jeddah on March 11.
