Putin Meets Trump Envoy for Talks on Ukraine

White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt described the latest meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. special envoy Steven Witkoff as “another step in the negotiation process” to end the war in Ukraine, Orda.kz reports.

Commenting on the meeting, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov mentioned the possibility of a future phone call between Putin and former U.S. President Donald Trump. He noted that while the discussions were intended to address the Ukrainian conflict, “no particular breakthroughs should be expected.”

Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov and his special investment and economic cooperation representative, Kirill Dmitriev, also participated in the talks.

The Kremlin’s official website gave only a brief mention of the meeting, stating:

The head of the Russian state held a meeting with the special envoy of the President of the United States of America, Steven Witkoff. The topic of the meeting was aspects of the Ukrainian settlement.

This was Witkoff's third meeting with Putin. It lasted more than four hours and took place at the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Library. 

The Trump envoy previously visited Moscow on February 11 and March 13.

According to Reuters, following Witkoff’s March visit, he told the White House that the quickest path to ending hostilities in Ukraine would be to recognize Russian sovereignty over the Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions. 

Reportedly, Trump has not made a final decision on the matter.

Original Author: Raushan Korzhumbekova