Trump’s special envoy discusses the Russia-Ukraine conflict with Putin
Moscow: According to Al Jazeera, Steve Witkoff, the special envoy of US President Donald Trump, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saint Petersburg to talk about the situation in Ukraine. The conversations lasted more than four hours, with Putin visiting Witkoff in the presidential library in Saint Petersburg on Friday, as reported by Al Jazeera on state television.
Without providing any details, the Kremlin said that the conference “focused on various aspects of the Ukrainian settlement”.
Dmitry Peskov, the spokesman for the Kremlin, had earlier said that Putin and Witkoff may talk about the prospect of the Russian leader meeting Trump in person.
The Russian side is discussing possible collaborative ventures in the Arctic and Russian rare earth resources, and Witkoff is now a crucial player in the ongoing tête-à-tête between Moscow and Washington, according to Al Jazeera.
The discussions take place as the US keeps up its attempts to mediate a ceasefire agreement to put an end to the fighting, which has stagnated as discussions on the terms of the agreement have been ongoing.
As part of the continuing attempts to reach a ceasefire agreement for the Ukraine conflict, US special envoy Steve Witkoff is now in Russia to have direct negotiations with the Kremlin and Russian President Vladimir Putin, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced Friday (local time).
Leavitt told reporters at a news conference that it was a step towards the ceasefire negotiations and the “ultimate peace deal”.
Donald Trump has been “continually frustrated with both sides of this conflict”, she said, expressing the administration’s intention to get more involved in peace talks.
Since the US president returned to the White House in January for a second four-year term, Putin and Trump have chatted on the phone but have not yet met in person.
Despite many rounds of negotiations between Russian and US officials, Trump has been pressuring Moscow and Kyiv to reach a ceasefire agreement, but he has not been able to wrangle any significant concessions from the Kremlin.
