MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin held “constructive” talks with US envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow on Wednesday (Aug 6), the Kremlin said, two days ahead of a deadline imposed by US President Donald Trump on Moscow to halt its Ukraine offensive or face fresh sanctions.
US President Donald Trump, who had boasted he could end the conflict within 24 hours of taking office, has given Russia until Friday to make progress towards peace or face new penalties.
But three rounds of Russia-Ukraine peace talks in Istanbul have failed to make headway on a ceasefire, with the two sides far apart.
Russia has escalated drone and missile attacks against its pro-Western neighbour to a record high and accelerated its advance on the ground.
“A quite useful and constructive conversation took place,” Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov told journalists, including AFP, after the three-hour meeting.
Putin and Witkoff exchanged “signals” on their positions, Ushakov said, without elaborating.
The Kremlin released video of Putin shaking hands with Witkoff at the start of the meeting.
Ahead of the meeting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Washington to up its pressure on Moscow to agree to a ceasefire.
SANCTIONS THREAT
The White House has not outlined specific actions it would take against Russia, but Trump has previously threatened to impose “secondary tariffs” targeting Russia’s key trade partners, such as China and India.
The move would aim to stifle Russian exports, but would risk significant international disruption.
Trump said Tuesday that he would await the outcome of the Moscow talks before ordering any economic retaliation.
“We’re going to see what happens,” he told reporters. “We’ll make that determination at that time.”
Without explicitly naming Trump, the Kremlin on Tuesday slammed “threats” to hike tariffs on Russia’s trading partners as “illegitimate”.
Russia’s campaign against Ukraine since February 2022 has killed tens of thousands of people, destroyed swathes of the country and forced millions to flee their homes.
Moscow has demanded that Ukraine cede more territory and renounce Western support if it wants the fighting to stop.
Kyiv is calling for an immediate ceasefire, and Zelenskyy last week urged his allies to push for “regime change” in Moscow.
