'Everyone agrees war must come to close': Trump says ‘great progress’ made in Witkoff’s three-hour talks with Putin
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "'Everyone agrees war must come to close': Trump says ‘great progress’ made in Witkoff’s three-hour talks with Putin")
Trump says ‘great progress’ made in Witkoff’s three-hour talks with Putin Photograph: (Reuters)
US envoy Steve Witkoff held a three-hour meeting with Russian President Putin in Moscow ahead of a US ceasefire deadline, with President Trump calling the talks “highly productive” amid Ukraine war diplomacy.
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, had a “highly productive meeting” with Russian President Vladimir Putin as Washington pushes to end the war in Ukraine. “My Special Envoy, Steve Witkoff, just had a highly productive meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Great progress was made! Afterwards, I updated some of our European Allies. Everyone agrees this war must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
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Three-hour Kremlin talks
Witkoff’s meeting with Putin in Moscow lasted three hours, according to the Kremlin’s press office, and came just two days before a US-imposed Friday deadline for Russia to agree to a ceasefire or face new economic penalties. It was not immediately clear if concrete progress was made, but US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he had spoken to Witkoff after the talks and expected the administration to make “some announcements” later in the day, “maybe positive, maybe not.”
The Kremlin released video footage showing Putin warmly greeting Witkoff. This was the fifth time the two men have met this year. Putin aide Yuri Ushakov described the talks as “useful” and “constructive,” saying they covered both the “Ukraine issue” and “perspectives for possible strategic cooperation” between Moscow and Washington.
Trump grows impatient with Putin
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The meeting took place amid signs of Trump’s frustration with Putin over continued Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities despite months of US-led mediation. Trump has repeatedly claimed he could end the conflict within “24 hours” by using his personal rapport with the Russian leader, but he recently admitted that daily reports of civilian casualties have tested his patience.
“I go home, I tell the first lady, ‘You know, I spoke to Vladimir today. We had a wonderful conversation.’ And she said, ‘Oh really? Another city was just hit,’” Trump told NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office last month.
New tariffs on India amid war pressure
In a separate move on Wednesday, Trump signed an executive order imposing an extra 25% tariff on India over its purchases of Russian oil. The step was seen as part of Washington’s broader campaign to squeeze Moscow economically.
