Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Steve Witkoff, the special envoy of US President Donald Trump, in Moscow on Wednesday, just days before Trump’s deadline for a ceasefire agreement in Ukraine.
The meeting, confirmed by Russian state media, had been uncertain until the last moment, with the Kremlin initially providing little detail. It marks a significant moment in the strained diplomatic relations between Washington and Moscow, coming amid rising global pressure to end the ongoing war in Ukraine.
President Trump has given Putin until Friday to agree to a peace deal or risk facing fresh economic sanctions, including penalties that could extend to nations purchasing Russian oil. The high-stakes ultimatum adds urgency to the already fraught geopolitical standoff.
The Kremlin, however, urged patience as speculation mounts over a potential summit between Trump and Putin, which has yet to be confirmed. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, in comments carried by the Russian state news agency TASS, acknowledged the delay in direct engagement between the two leaders.
“There is, of course, inertia in this process,” Peskov said, referring to the protracted absence of a meeting between the U.S. and Russian presidents. “It takes time for efforts to bring bilateral relations back onto a normal track.”
TASS noted that more than six months have passed without a formal summit between the heads of the two nuclear powers — the longest such pause in modern Russian history.
While no additional details were provided about the substance of Witkoff’s meeting with Putin, the diplomatic visit is widely seen as a precursor to a possible thaw—or breakdown—in U.S.-Russia relations, depending on Moscow’s response to Trump’s ceasefire demand.
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