US Special Envoy for Peace Missions Steve Witkoff said on 10 March that Russia has directly told President Trump it is not sharing intelligence with Iran, even as several reports indicate otherwise — and signaled that a trilateral US-Russia-Ukraine meeting, postponed from this week, is likely to take place next week.
"I can tell you that yesterday, on the call with the president, the Russians said they have not been sharing," Witkoff said on CNBC's Money Movers. "That's what they said. So, we can take them at their word, but they did say that."
The assurance came through two separate channels. Witkoff said that he and Jared Kushner also spoke independently with Russian aide Yuri Ushakov, "who reiterated the same." He added: "Let's hope that they're not sharing."
The comments come after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told NBC News's Kristen Welker on Meet the Press that military cooperation between Russia and Iran "is not something new" or a "secret," saying Russia is "helping us in many different directions." Several reports have indicated Russia is feeding information to Iran's military to help locate and strike US bases in the Middle East.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on 9 March offered his "unwavering support" to Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who succeeded his father Ali Khamenei as supreme leader following the latter's assassination. "Russia has been and will remain the Islamic Republic's reliable partner," Putin said in a statement. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dismissed the concerns, telling CBS News last week that "no one's putting us in danger" and that "the only ones that need to be worried right now are Iranians."
On Ukraine, Witkoff confirmed the planned trilateral meeting between the US, Russia and Ukraine — expected this week — has been pushed back. "There was supposed to be a trilateral this week," he said. "The trilateral will be shifted until some time next week."
He cited progress as grounds for optimism. "The Ukrainians themselves say that we have made more progress since the initial meetings in Geneva than we did in the last four years," Witkoff said on Money Movers, adding: "We're going to remain positive on that. That's a war that should end."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had previously said an agreement was reached with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to host the next round of talks in Türkiye, but the meeting was postponed at US initiative, according to earlier reports.
Asked whether a peace deal could be reached this year, Witkoff stopped short of a commitment. "It's taking longer than he thought," he said, referring to Trump. "But we're beginning to see signs that both sides are weary and tired. And, hopefully, that's the beginning inflection point."
