Russian President Vladimir Putin met at the Kremlin with US special envoy Steve Witkoff at a particularly critical moment, with less than 48 hours remaining before Washington’s ultimatum deadline for new sanctions on Russia expires.
Read: Russia: US special envoy Steve Witkoff arrives in Moscow – His meetings begin immediately
According to TASS reports, Witkoff arrived in Moscow around 7 a.m. (local time) on Wednesday. He was greeted at Vnukovo-2 airport by the Special Representative of the Russian President for Investment and Economic Cooperation with Foreign Countries, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev. An hour later, they walked together in Moscow’s Zaryadye Park, located near the Kremlin. This marks Witkoff’s fifth visit to Russia since the beginning of the year. The last time the US leader’s special envoy came to Moscow for talks was on April 25, and before that – on April 11 in St. Petersburg. Putin received him on both occasions.
The meeting comes as President Donald Trump’s deadline approaches: progress must be achieved in resolving the Ukrainian crisis by August 9, otherwise new sanctions will be imposed. At the same time, he noted that Russia is handling sanctions well. When asked if Moscow could avoid restrictions from Washington, Trump replied that for this to happen, there must be a “deal where people stop getting killed.”
Washington’s next steps will depend on the outcome of Witkoff’s talks in Moscow, he added. According to Reuters, Bloomberg and the independent Russian news agency The Bell reported that the Kremlin may propose a moratorium on air strikes by Russia and Ukraine – an idea mentioned last week by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko during a meeting with Putin.
Such a move, if agreed upon, would fall far short of the full and immediate ceasefire that Ukraine and the US have been seeking for months. However, it would offer some relief to both sides.
