Russian President Vladimir Putin met with US special
envoy Steve Witkoff in St Petersburg on Friday, as former President Donald
Trump publicly urged Russia to accelerate efforts for a ceasefire in Ukraine,
citing the rising death toll from the ongoing conflict.
The high-level meeting—Witkoff’s third with Putin this
year—lasted over four hours and focused on a potential settlement to the war in
Ukraine, the Kremlin said. Russian sovereign wealth fund head and Kremlin
insider Kirill Dmitriev described the talks as "productive," though
specific outcomes were not disclosed.
Speaking on his social media platform, Trump expressed
frustration with the pace of negotiations, writing: “Russia has to get moving.
Too many people are DYING—thousands a week—in a terrible and senseless war.”
The meeting took place against a backdrop of fresh
commitments by European nations, who pledged €21 billion ($24 billion) in new
military aid for Ukraine. Europe’s defense ministers said they see no imminent
resolution to the war, now entering its third year.
Ahead of the meeting, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov
cautioned against expectations of a breakthrough, stating that “normalisation
of relations remains an ongoing process.”
Asked whether the visit could pave the way for a
direct meeting between Putin and Trump, Peskov said, “Let’s see. It depends on
what Witkoff has come with.”
Witkoff also held a private meeting with Dmitriev
earlier in the day at the Grand Hotel Europe, coinciding with an unrelated
economic forum on Russia’s stainless steel industry. Dmitriev recently became
the highest-ranking Russian official to visit Washington since the invasion of
Ukraine in 2022.
Meanwhile in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky
visited the site of a recent missile strike on his hometown, Kryvyi Rih, where
19 people—including nine children—were killed. Standing before memorials for
victims, Zelensky accused Russia of prolonging the war by recruiting foreign
fighters, alleging that several hundred Chinese nationals had been captured
fighting for Russian forces.
“Russia is clearly trying to prolong the war even by
using Chinese lives,” he said.
Zelensky renewed his call for Western air defense
systems, revealing that he had discussed potential purchases directly with
Trump. “Ukraine is not just asking—we’re ready to buy,” Zelensky posted online.
“Only powerful weapons can truly protect life when your neighbor is Russia.”
Trump has repeatedly claimed he could end the war in
Ukraine within 24 hours if reelected, and suggested that the invasion never
would have occurred had he remained in office in 2022. “A war that should have
never happened, and wouldn’t have happened, if I were President!!!” he declared
on Friday.
Though both sides have expressed willingness to
negotiate, a recent US-brokered effort for a limited Black Sea ceasefire
collapsed when Russia insisted on lifting economic sanctions first—a condition
Washington deemed unacceptable.
With diplomacy at an impasse, Witkoff’s mission
remains uncertain, though it signals Washington’s continued attempts to exert
influence behind the scenes, even as official relations between the US and
Russia remain strained.
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