Whitkoff said when a possible meeting between Zelensky and Putin could take place

US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Whitkoff has said that a possible breakthrough in the peace process between Ukraine and Russia could come as soon as in the coming weeks. In an interview with Fox News, he expressed hope that joint initiatives with Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner "will help bring the positions of the sides closer together and could lead to a meeting between Vladimir Zelensky and Vladimir Putin as soon as within three weeks."

According to Whitkoff, a trilateral meeting involving Trump himself is not ruled out in the future. He emphasised that the war is "pointless" and the sides, according to his observations, show no real desire to continue fighting.

This war is really pointless. They are fighting over this territory. Everybody talks about dignity, but what's it worth if there's so much killing? I think we've been able to bring both sides together, and it's had a definite positive effect at some points. They don't look like they really want to fight each other and I don't think they need to," the special envoy said.

He also said he has been criticised for his eight meetings with Putin, but believes the contacts are key to understanding the Kremlin's position. Whitkoff said the Russian leader was "always completely honest" during the talks, despite the wave of criticism against him.

How would you make a deal with someone on the other side if you didn't know where the other side was? I had to understand what his motives and goals were. And I actually think a lot of those meetings are becoming very relevant now. I think those meetings were important, and hopefully we'll follow through," he said.

Earlier, Trump said that Whitkoff managed to establish a dialogue with both Moscow and Kiev, and his efforts are positively evaluated in Europe as well. The special envoy's last meeting with Putin took place on 22 January in Moscow.