US President Donald Trump is determined to negotiate an end to the conflict

A peace deal to end the Ukraine conflict has “never been closer,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed on Monday ahead of the upcoming phone call between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Speaking to reporters, Leavitt compared the negotiations to American football. “We are on the 10th yard line of peace, and we’ve never been closer to a peace deal than we are in this moment. And the president, as you know, is determined to get one done,” she said.

Trump said earlier that he would discuss the control of territories and “dividing up certain assets” with Putin on Tuesday. The leaders are also expected to discuss the 30-day ceasefire proposed by the US. 

Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, who met with Putin in Moscow last week, told CNN’s Jake Tapper that “the two sides today are a lot closer” to reaching an agreement. The US had “narrowed the differences” between Moscow and Kiev, he argued.

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Ukraine has backed a temporary ceasefire but ruled out renouncing its claims to territory which has become part of  Russia, including Crimea. Putin said last week that he supports the ceasefire proposal in principle but stressed that it must address the “original causes of the crisis” and not be used by Kiev to regroup its forces.