President Donald Trump defended his special envoy Steve Witkoff on Friday against criticism over his repeated meetings with Vladimir Putin, insisting the back-channel diplomacy was advancing a Ukraine settlement. Trump spoke to reporters at the White House.

The defence followed days of pointed questions about Witkoff's characterisation of the Russian president and the substance of their private talks in Moscow. Democratic members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, led by ranking member Jeanne Shaheen, called for Witkoff to brief lawmakers on what concessions, if any, had been discussed with the Kremlin.

Trump said Witkoff had his full confidence and dismissed reporting that cast the envoy as sympathetic to Putin. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent backed the administration's approach and said sanctions pressure remained on the table.

The dispute sharpened divisions over Trump's Russia strategy, with several Republican senators privately uneasy about the pace of talks. Shaheen and other Democrats argued that Congress had been sidelined and warned against any deal that rewarded Russian territorial gains in Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials in Kyiv said they had not been fully briefed on the Witkoff channel and sought assurances from Washington that no agreement would be reached over their heads, according to a statement from President Volodymyr Zelensky's office.