Russian President Vladimir Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff on Wednesday for talks on the Ukraine war.
This meeting comes just days before a deadline set by U.S. President Donald Trump for Russia to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine.
If Russia doesn’t comply, Trump has threatened to impose sweeping new sanctions.
The Kremlin confirmed Witkoff’s visit but didn’t release any further details about the meeting.
Photos from the Kremlin show Putin’s foreign policy adviser, Yuri Ushakov, was also present.
This isn’t Witkoff’s first trip to Russia this year; he’s visited five times amid limited contact between Washington and Moscow due to Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.
In July, Trump gave Russia a 50-day deadline to end the war in Ukraine, which was later shortened to this Friday.
Trump has warned that if Russia doesn’t comply, he’ll impose “sanctions and maybe tariffs, secondary tariffs” on countries doing business with Moscow to cut off Russia’s war funding.
This comes amid growing frustration over Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilians.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, leading to significant conflict and humanitarian concerns.
The outcome of these talks and whether Russia meets Trump’s deadline could significantly impact the trajectory of the war in Ukraine and international relations between Russia, the U.S., and other countries involved.
