Trump administration officials are reaching out to their Russian counterparts as the White House says Ball is in a Moscow court to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine.
National Security Advisor Mike Waltz spoke with his Russian counterpart on Wednesday.
Leavitt also told White House reporters that Steve Witkov, the president's envoy on Middle Eastern issues, will travel to Moscow later this week to mediate the agreement.
These updates came after CIA director John Ratcliffe and Russian foreign intelligence agency chief Sergei Narishkin spoke on the phone on Tuesday.
Outreach between the Trump administration and Moscow came shortly after a meeting between US officials and Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia, ending at the White House, where the White House expresses “preparation” to accept the 30-day ceasefire proposal.
The talks took place less than two weeks after a controversial oval office meeting between President Trump and Ukrainian President Voldymi Zelensky at the end of last month. The meeting ended abruptly after Trump said Zelensky was “not ready for peace.”
Trump told reporters in the oval office on Wednesday that accepting a ceasefire is no coincidence in Russia.
“Hopefully we can get a ceasefire from Russia,” Trump said. “And if that's the case, I think it's 80% of the way to get this horrible blood bath.”
Trump asked if there was anything he could do to pressure Russia to accept the deal, but he said he hoped it wasn't necessary.
