Putin, Trump envoy Witkoff meet in Moscow ahead of Trump deadline for Moscow to agree to end Ukraine war

Russian President Vladimir Putin had talks with President Trump Steve Witkoff’s special envoy in Moscow on Wednesday, the Kremlin said, a few days before the deadline for the White House Russia to conclude a peace agreement with Ukraine or potentially cope with serious economic penalties that could also strike the countries to buy his oil.

The meeting lasted about three hours, the Russian state media said. None of the two parties gave immediate reading of the talks.

Earlier, Witkoff made a walk early in the morning in Zaryadye park, a kremlin stone throw, with Kirill Dmitriev, the Russian president for investment and economic cooperation, images broadcast by the Russian news agency Tass.

DMITRIEV has played a key role in three cycles of direct talks between the delegations of Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul in recent months, as well as discussions between Russian and American officials. Negotiations have made no progress at the end The three -year war after the invasion by Russia of its neighbor.

Mr. Trump’s deadline for Putin ends on Friday. Washington has threatened with “serious prices” and other economic sanctions if the murder does not stop.

Trump expressed increasing frustration with regard to Putin on the climbing of Russia on the civil zones of Ukraine, intended to erode the morale and the appetite of the public for the war. The intensified attacks have occurred even though Mr. Trump has urged the Russian chief in recent months to yield.

As of the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, Russian forces struck a leisure center in the southern region of Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine, killing two people and injuring 12, two of them, said on Wednesday the regional governor Ivan Fedorov.

The Russian forces launched at least four strikes on the region and initially attacked with powerful sliding bombs.

“There is no military sense in this strike. Only cruelty to intimidate,” said Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an article on Telegram.

Western analysts and Ukrainian officials say Putin blocks time and avoids serious negotiations while Russian forces push to capture more Ukrainian land. A Russian offensive that started in the spring and which should continue in the fall progresses faster than last year’s push, but only made slow and expensive gains and could not take big cities.

The first line situation is essential for the Ukrainian forces, but the defenses are not about to collapse, according to analysts.

Trump said on Tuesday, “we will see what’s going on” concerning his threat to slap the prices on nations that buy Russian oil, which could considerably increase importation taxes on China and India.

“We have a meeting with Russia tomorrow,” said Trump. “We will see what is going on. We are going to take this determination at that time.”

The president said that he had not publicly engaged at a specific rate rate.

Mr. Trump is Almost also IndiaA huge buyer with Russian oil China. The Kremlin says that the threats of taking measures against nations that are negotiated with Russia are illegal.

Intensify diplomatic and economic pressure on the Kremlin may catch up on international tensions in the context of the worsening of the United States Russia.

The Center for European Policy Analysis, based in Washington, warned this week in an assessment that there is clear signs that the Kremlin is preparing for a broader confrontation with NATO “, including a military accumulation along the western flank of Russia with the countries of the Alliance in recent years.

Putin did not give any clue that he could be ready to make concessions. Instead, the Russian leader and senior Kremlin officials spoke of the country’s military force.

Putin announced last week that the new hypersonic missile in Russia, which he said cannot be intercepted by current NATO air defense systems, has entered service.

Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, in the meantime, warned that the Ukrainian war could bring Russia and the United States to an armed conflict. Trump responded to this by ordering the repositioning of two American nuclear submarines.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov welcomed Witkoff’s visit on Monday. “We consider (to speak with Witkoff) important, substantial and very useful,” he said.

Trump initially gave Moscow a deadline for 50 days, but then put back his ultimatum while the Kremlin continued to bomb the Ukrainian cities.

However, Mr. Trump himself doubted their effectiveness, saying on Sunday that Russia turned out “good enough to avoid sanctions”.

“They are cunning characters,” he said about the Russians.

The Kremlin insisted on the fact that the international sanctions imposed since its February 2022 invasion of its neighbor had a limited impact.

Ukraine argues that sanctions are wreaking havoc on the Moscow war machine and want Western allies to accelerate them.