The Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke for hours on Wednesday with the American envoy Steve Witkoff. According to the Kremlin, it was a “useful and constructive” conversation. There was pressure due to the American deadline for an end to the war.
The American President Donald Trump has warned Putin that he will impose sanctions if Russia does not agree to a ceasefire before Friday. It was an election promise of Trump to end the war in Ukraine quickly. The president is annoyed by Putin’s attitude.
Therefore, Trump is threatening “secondary levies”. These are sanctions that not only affect Russia, but also countries that import sanctioned goods from Russia. Trump is talking about levies of 100 percent here.
Therefore, Witkoff flew to Moscow to force a breakthrough. He spoke with Putin for about three hours. Yuri Ushakov, who advises Putin on foreign policy, stated that both parties “discussed the possibility of developing a strategic partnership”.
Ushakov also said that both parties exchanged “signals”. It is not entirely clear what he meant by this. Ushakov refused to give more details until Witkoff has reported to Trump. The Americans have not yet responded to the conversation.
Trump advanced deadline because he ‘saw no progress’
In mid-July, Trump demanded that Putin had to reach an agreement within fifty days. But last week, Trump advanced that deadline to this coming Friday because he found it pointless to wait the full fifty days. “We just don’t see any progress,” the American president said.
Since Russia and Ukraine resumed direct peace negotiations in May, Russia has carried out the heaviest air strikes of the war. In the Ukrainian capital Kyiv alone, 72 people have been killed.
Trump was not pleased with the attacks. “We thought several times that we had arranged a ceasefire. And then President Putin launched rockets on a city like Kyiv and killed a lot of people in a nursing home,” Trump said. “That’s not the right way.”