White House says Ukraine peace deal closer than ever ahead of call with Putin

The White House said Monday that a deal to end the Kremlin's war on Ukraine is closer that it has ever been ahead of an eagerly-awaited telephone call between President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.

"We are on the 10th-yard line of peace, and we've never been closer to a peace deal than we are at this moment. And the President, as you know, is determined to get one done," spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters.

She was using an American football euphemism to refer to a goal that is nearly met.

The upcoming call on Tuesday was earlier confirmed by the Kremlin, which declined to disclose details about the agenda for the conversation.

After the call "you will hear from" either Trump directly, or one of his spokespeople, Leavitt said.

It comes a week after Ukraine agreed to a 30-day ceasefire proposed by the US during a bilateral meeting in Saudi Arabia.

Putin on Thursday welcomed the temporary truce, but stopped short of endorsing it after meeting with Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, saying it must lead to a final settlement that would address the root causes of the conflict.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Ukraine's allies on Friday to exert strong pressure on Moscow to prevent further delays. "Putin will try to drag everyone into endless discussions, just like he did with 'Minsk,' wasting days, weeks, and months on meaningless talks while his guns continue to kill people," he said.

Zelenskyy expressed gratitude to Saudi Arabia for its mediation efforts and stressed that Ukraine is prepared to work on a structured peace plan once a ceasefire is in place.