Trump appointed another special representative to work on ending the war in Ukraine.

US President Donald Trump has secretly directed his special envoy for the Middle East, Steven Witkoff, to focus on resolving the conflict in Ukraine. According to Fox News, Witkoff has already met with Putin and spoke with him for 3.5 hours during his trip to Moscow.

The White House reported that Trump’s envoy left Moscow with Marc Fogel, an American teacher wrongfully imprisoned in 2021. Fogel had previously worked at the US Embassy in Russia, but at the time of his arrest, he was a teacher at the Anglo-American School in Moscow and did not have diplomatic status.

National Security Advisor Mike Walz described this as a step toward ending the war in Ukraine and a demonstration of “goodwill” from the Russian Federation. Trump remarked that Russia showed “good behavior” toward the US by releasing Fogel.

“I hope this marks the beginning of a relationship that will enable us to end this war,” Trump stated.