Steve Witkoff’s meeting with Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump said that his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, made “significant progress” during his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as Washington continued preparations to impose secondary sanctions on Friday.
The meeting took place two days before the deadline set by U.S. President Donald Trump for Russia to agree to peace in Ukraine, which failing it would face new sanctions. Trump’s frustration with Putin has been growing due to the lack of progress toward peace, and he has threatened to impose hefty tariffs on countries that purchase Russian exports.
A White House official stated that, despite the meeting going well and Moscow’s eagerness to continue cooperation with the United States, the secondary sanctions threatened by Trump against countries trading with Russia are expected to take effect on Friday. No further details were provided.
Trump wrote in a post on the Truth Social platform, “My special envoy, Steve Witkoff, held a highly productive meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin… significant progress was made!”
He added, “Everyone agrees on the need to end this war, and we will work to achieve that in the coming days and weeks.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Yuri Ushakov, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aide for foreign policy, said that Witkoff held “useful and constructive” talks with Putin. The meeting lasted about three hours as part of a last-minute urgent mission aimed at making progress in the war that has been ongoing for three and a half years, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Ushakov added that the two sides exchanged “signals” regarding the Ukrainian issue and discussed the possibility of developing strategic cooperation between Moscow and Washington. However, he refrained from providing further details until Witkoff submits his report to Trump.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he believes that pressure on Russia is bearing fruit and that Moscow is now more inclined toward a ceasefire.
In his evening address, he added, “It seems that Russia is now more inclined toward a ceasefire. The pressure on them is proving effective. But the most important thing is that neither we nor the United States get deceived by the details.”
In a separate post on the social media platform X, Zelensky said he discussed Witkoff’s visit to Russia with Trump, affirming Ukraine’s support for establishing a just peace and its ongoing determination to defend itself.
He continued, “Ukraine will certainly defend its independence. We all need a lasting and reliable peace. Russia must end the war it started.” He added that European leaders joined the call with Trump.
Trump wrote in a post on the Truth Social platform that he briefed some of Washington’s European allies on the latest developments following Witkoff’s meeting.
