UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Donald Trump discussed Ukraine and Gaza during a pre-Christmas phone call on Sunday, according to a statement released by Downing Street in London.

President Donald Trump asked when Ukraine would have democratic elections at a press availability on Wednesday. REPORTER: And you said in an interview yesterday that you think it's time for Zelensky to start accepting things.

Apart from disagreements about peace efforts in Ukraine, Witkoff has been at loggerheads with Rubio and State Department officials about the way he handles security.

President Donald Trump on Monday described an end to the war in Ukraine as closer than ever, with American officials earlier in the day suggesting beefed-up security guarantees for Kyiv had advanced the peace talks — but that the US offer would not be on the table forever.

US president's son-in-law, key figure in 2020 Abraham Accords but absent at start of Trump's 2nd term, now teaming up with Steve Witkoff to tackle difficult conflicts

The news conference is taking place just hours before Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff meets with senior officials from Egypt, Turkey and Qatar to discuss the next phase of the Republican president’s Gaza ceasefire plan, progress on which has moved slowly since it was announced in October.

A Ukrainian delegation is holding another meeting in Florida with a US negotiating team on Sunday, according to Kyiv’s top negotiator, Rustem Umerov, as talks continue over a possible peace deal.