American president maintains negotiations separately with the Russian and Ukrainian authorities to end the war between the two countries
The president of ,, said on Friday (11) that the country needs to “move” to end “the terrible and meaningless war” in Ukraine. More than three years after the start of the Russian military campaign in Ukraine, which left tens of thousands of dead, Trump wants to end the conflict and, for this, broke the diplomatic isolation imposed on Putin for Western powers. The US government maintains negotiations separately with the Russian and Ukrainian authorities, which have not yet resulted at the end of hostilities. Diplomatic contacts continue. “Russia needs to move,” Trump wrote on his platform, Truth Social, where he has lamented that “many people are dying thousands a week in a terrible and meaningless war.”
Shortly after Trump’s publication, Kremlin reported that negotiations between and Steve Witkoff, sent from the US President, had started. The meeting lasted four and a half hours, according to the state news agency Ria Novosti. The two talked about the conflict that began with the Russian offensive in Ukraine, but Kremlin said he does not expect diplomatic “advances” during the meeting. The meeting in St. Petersburg, said Russian presidential spokesman Dmitri Peskov, will address “various aspects of the Ukrainian solution.”
Kremlin first announced Witkoff’s arrival at Russia on Friday (11) and then his meeting with Putin, the third with the US emissary since February. “A process of normalization of relationships and the search for a common point is underway to advance toward a resolution” for the conflict in Ukraine, he said. “The hard work continues. Naturally, Witkoff (…) will take something from its president to Putin,” he added. Hours earlier, Witkoff met in St. Petersburg with Kremlin’s economic negotiator Kirill Dmitiev.
On Saturday (12), Witkoff should travel to Oman to participate in nuclear negotiations with Iran, a Russian ally with which the United States has not had diplomatic relations for 45 years. The visit of the Russian envoy also occurs one day after a prisoner exchange and a round of negotiations between Washington and Moscow about the operation of his diplomatic missions, for the second time since Trump returned to the White House in January.
*With information from AFP
Posted by Nátaly Tenório
