PUTIN RECEIVES US SPECIAL ENVOY WITKOFF IN MOSCOW FOR UKRAINE WAR TALKS

Wed 06 August 2025:

Russian President Vladimir Putin received US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff at the Kremlin on Wednesday, just two days before hitting a deadline for Moscow to reach a ceasefire in Ukraine or face new sanctions

The meeting between Putin and Witkoff was announced by the Kremlin in a statement, but it provided no immediate details on the talks. It later posted a video of the Russian president and US special envoy shaking hands.

Witkoff arrived in Moscow earlier Wednesday in what is his fifth visit to Russia since the start of the year, with his latest two visits in April, during which he again met with Putin.

When reporters asked Trump on Monday what Witkoff’s message would be to Moscow, and if there was anything Russia could do to avoid the sanctions, Trump replied: “Yeah, get a deal where people stop getting killed.”https://t.co/w9c08zydDw pic.twitter.com/UOYKtwH2mr

— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) August 6, 2025

The visit is taking place two days before hitting a 10-day deadline set by Trump for Russia to reach a ceasefire deal with Ukraine, set for this Friday.

In June, Trump gave Russia a 50-day window, after which he threatened to impose import duties of up to 100% on Russia and its trading partners unless Moscow and Kyiv reach an agreement.

On July 29, Trump announced that he had decided to reduce that deadline to 10 days over his “disappointment” with Putin.

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When reporters asked Trump on Monday what Witkoff’s message would be to Moscow, and if there was anything Russia could do to avoid the sanctions, Trump replied: “Yeah, get a deal where people stop getting killed.”

Witkoff, a real estate billionaire, has had several long meetings with Putin. He had no diplomatic experience before joining Trump’s team in January, and critics have portrayed him as ill equipped for such tasks.

Three previous rounds of peace talks in Istanbul in an attempt to broker a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine have failed to make headway.

Putin, who has consistently rejected calls for a ceasefire, said on Friday that he wants peace but that his demands for ending the nearly three-and-a-half-year offensive were unchanged. Moscow has demanded that Ukraine cede more territory and renounce Western support, including seeking NATO membership.

Kyiv is calling for an immediate ceasefire, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week urged his allies to push for “regime change” in Moscow.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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