He added that Trump was convening a “large meeting” at the White House on Wednesday to hash out the details of a “comprehensive plan” to rebuild Gaza, which Israel’s assault has left a “demolition zone.”
Another conflict the Trump administration is eager to resolve by the close of 2025 is the war in Ukraine.
After whirlwind summits in Alaska and Washington with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders, Witkoff said “the end is in sight” and the U.S. was “hopeful that by the end of this year, and maybe quite a bit sooner, we actually can find the ingredients to get to that peace deal.”
Russia had put forward a peace proposal that “involves Donetsk,” the eastern region of Ukraine partially occupied by the Kremlin’s troops, Witkoff said, talking up the offer as major “progress.”
Ukraine and its allies have repeatedly said the war can end as soon as Moscow stops its full-scale invasion, which it launched in the winter of 2022. But the Kremlin is refusing to do so unless Kyiv bows to its demands, including giving up vast, heavily fortified swaths of territory in Ukraine’s east.
