Russian President Vladimir Putin received U.S. special envoy for talks on Wednesday, days before President Donald Trump’s deadline for Moscow to accept a ceasefire in Ukraine or face sweeping new sanctions.
The Kremlin announced Steve Witkoff’s visit but provided no further details. Photos released by the Kremlin show that Putin’s foreign policy adviser, Yuri Ushakov, also attended the meeting.
Following years of limited contact between Washington and Moscow due to the war launched by Putin against Ukraine, Witkoff has now visited Russia five times this year.
In July, Trump gave Moscow a 50-day deadline to end the war. The timeline was then shortened to this Friday. Trump has threatened a new wave of sanctions if Russia fails to comply.
Amid growing frustration over continued Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilians, Trump pledged to impose “sanctions and maybe tariffs, secondary tariffs” on countries still doing business with Moscow, in a bid to choke off its war funding.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of neighbouring Ukraine in February 2022.