Zelenskyy told reporters that during a conference call with U.S. President Donald Trump and several European leaders, Witkoff relayed Russia was ready “to end the war, at least to [enact] a ceasefire.”
“Everyone on the line was encouraged, sensing a certain shift [in Moscow’s position],” Zelenskyy said.
The president said he declined to discuss any territorial concessions “by phone,” noting that such issues fall under Ukraine’s constitution and are “serious questions that leaders must handle directly.”
Zelenskyy said allies proposed various formats for follow-up talks. He asked that national security advisers first meet online and that any in-person, bilateral or trilateral summit take place only if those consultations prove necessary. Trump agreed, Zelenskyy said: “We’ll do an NSA [national security advisers] meeting, and then any other meetings can follow.”
After those adviser‐level discussions, “it became clear that what we heard by phone [from Witkoff] differed from what Russia had privately told the United States,” Zelenskyy added.
On August 9, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing diplomatic sources, that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin offered to stop fighting in exchange for Ukraine surrendering its Donetsk Oblast. European officials warned the proposal lacked binding commitments by Russia aside from a ceasefire while demanding significant Ukrainian territory.
Later reports suggested Witkoff may have misunderstood Putin’s conditions for a ceasefire during his Moscow visit.