Trump's Diplomacy Team: "Ukraine-Russia End-of-War Talks to Continue Into the New Year"

Highlighting Sustained Negotiation Momentum on the Last Day of 2025

Steve Witkoff, Special Envoy for President Donald Trump, announced that Trump’s “End of War Diplomacy Team” discussed ending the war in Ukraine and possible peace measures with Ukraine, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany on December 31 (local time).

Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine, and Donald Trump, President of the United States. Photo by Yonhap News

On X (formerly Twitter), Special Envoy Witkoff stated that he, Secretary of State Marco Rubio (who also serves as White House National Security Advisor), and President Trump’s eldest son-in-law Jared Kushner, held a productive call with the national security advisors of these countries to discuss the next steps for progress in the European peace process.

This took place just three days after President Trump met with Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine, at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, on December 28, and mediated peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, the parties involved in the war.

Immediately after the meeting, President Trump expressed confidence in the success of his peace mediation during a joint press conference with President Zelensky, mentioning that both sides were 95% close to reaching an agreement. However, the following day, the situation deteriorated as Russia claimed that Ukraine had carried out a drone attack on President Putin’s residence.

The fact that President Trump’s diplomatic team continued discussions with Ukraine and European countries is seen as an indication that momentum for negotiations is still being maintained.

Special Envoy Witkoff emphasized, “We also discussed a prosperity package for Ukraine, and how to continue defining, improving, and advancing these concepts so that postwar Ukraine can be successful, resilient, and truly prosperous,” adding, “We will continue this important work and cooperation into the new year.”