Steve Witkoff, special envoy of US President Donald Trump, arrived in Moscow today, marking his fifth visit to Russia this year.
Video released by the Kremlin shows President Vladimir Putin smiling and shaking hands with Mr. Witkoff. The two then sat down at a negotiating table in a room at the Kremlin. The content of the meeting has not been disclosed.
Mr. Witkoff's visit comes two days before the deadline set by President Trump for Russia to end the conflict in Ukraine. The US president warned of new sanctions against Moscow if this does not happen.
Three rounds of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in Turkey since the beginning of the year have failed to make any progress on a ceasefire due to the wide gap between the two sides' positions.
The White House has not specified the concrete actions it will take against Russia, but Mr. Trump has threatened "secondary taxes" targeting Russia's key trading partners, such as China and India. This move aims to restrain Moscow's exports, but risks causing significant disruption on an international scale.
The US president said he would wait for the outcome of the talks in Moscow before ordering economic sanctions against Russia. Before the meeting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the US to increase pressure to force Russia to agree to a ceasefire.
The Kremlin on 5/8 criticized the threat of increased taxes on Russia's trading partners as "illegal", although it did not mention Mr. Trump.
Since taking office in January, Mr. Trump has reopened high-level diplomatic channels with Russia, reversing the approach of the previous administration. The US administration argues that cooperation between the two nuclear superpowers is essential and can bring mutual benefits.
However, Washington-Moscow relations have become increasingly strained as President Trump repeatedly warned of sanctions if Russia does not reach a ceasefire agreement in Ukraine before 8/8.
Huyen Le (According to AFP, RT)
