Trump’s envoy Witkoff meets Putin for 4th time, Kremlin says there was progress
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Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) shakes hands with US President Special Envoy Steve Witkoff (left) before a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow on April 25.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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MOSCOW – US President Donald Trump’s envoy, Mr Steve Witkoff, met Russian President Vladimir Putin for three hours in Moscow on April 25 to discuss the US plan to end the Ukraine war
Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov, who took part in the meeting, described it as constructive and very useful.
“This conversation allowed Russia and the United States to further bring their positions closer together, not only on Ukraine but also on a number of other international issues,” he told reporters.
“As for the Ukrainian crisis itself, the discussion focused in particular on the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between representatives of the Russian Federation and Ukraine.”
Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which started in February 2022.
There was no immediate comment from Mr Witkoff on the outcome of the meeting.
He has emerged as Washington’s key interlocutor with Mr Putin as Mr Trump pushes for a deal to end the war, now well into its fourth year, and has already had three long meetings with the Kremlin leader.
His latest trip follows talks this week at which Ukrainian and European officials pushed back against some of the US proposals for how to settle the conflict, the deadliest in Europe since World War II. REUTERS
