WASHINGTON, April 15. /TASS/. The United States is making progress in its talks with Russia on the Ukrainian conflict settlement, US Special Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff said in an interview with Fox News TV channel.

Asked whether there was a deal on Ukrainian conflict settlement emerging with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Wikoff replied: "I think you have used a very good word here, saying 'an emerging'."

"I do," he said in response to a question whether he felt confident about a possible deal between Russia and the United States.

"This is the third meeting I had with him that lasted close to five hours. We had two of his key advisers in the room at the time - [Russian Presidential Aide Yury] Ushakov and [special envoy of the Russian President and head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund] Kirill Dmitriev. It was a compelling meeting," Witkoff stated.

"This peace deal is about the so-called five territories, but there is so much more to it. There are security protocols, there is NATO Article 5…, a lot of detail attached. It’s a complicated situation rooted in some real problematic things happening between the two countries." the high-ranking US official added.

Last Friday, Putin had a meeting with Witkoff at the Presidential Library in St. Petersburg, which lasted for up to five hours. It was held behind closed doors and ended at about 10:00 p.m. Moscow time (7:00 p.m. GMT). The key topic was the situation in Ukraine.

On February 18, the Russian and US delegations held the first round of talks on resolving the Ukraine conflict in Riyadh. Lavrov, Ushakov, and CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev attended the talks on the Russian side. The US part was represented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Special Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff. On February 27, Russian and US diplomats and experts discussed issues facing both embassies at a meeting in Istanbul.

On March 24, representatives of Russia and the United States met in Riyadh to discuss the resumption of the Black Sea initiative. The Russian delegation was led by Karasin and Beseda. The US delegation included Andrew Peek, senior director for Europe at the US National Security Council, and Michael Anton, director of Policy Planning Staff at the Department of State.

The Donetsk People's Republic, the Lugansk People's Republic, the Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions became part of Russia following referendums held there on September 23-27, 2022. Crimea and Sevastopol became part of the country after a referendum held in March 2014.

Putin said at a meeting with senior Foreign Ministry officials in June 2024 that Moscow was ready to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. His terms included Ukraine recognizing the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Lugansk People’s Republic, as well as the Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions, as parts of Russia.