Trump says Russia-Ukraine deal is near after meeting Putin’s envoy

Though the US president said a deal was ‘very close’, he gave no specifics and did not meet a visiting Ukrainian delegation. US President Donald Trump has said that a deal between Russia and Ukraine may be imminent, following a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, at the White House. “I think we’re going to be very close to settling Russia-Ukraine,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday, while declining to disclose details of his conversation with Dmitriev.

“There’s going to be an agreement. It’s going to be a big agreement, and it’s going to involve more than Ukraine,” Trump said, adding that the effort could include “all of Europe”. Trump has frequently predicted that an agreement to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II was close.

Negotiations have, however, picked up in recent weeks.