The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, hosted the US Special Envoy, Steve Witkoff, in the Kremlin on Wednesday as the deadline set by US President, Donald Trump, for Moscow to agree a ceasefire in Ukraine looms.
Putin-Witkoff Meeting
According to Russian news agency TASS, the meeting lasted for around 3 hours, with the presence of Russian Presidential Aide, Yury Ushakov, who described the meeting as “useful and constructive.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Witkoff arrived in Moscow, where he was received by the Russian Direct Investment Fund CEO and special presidential envoy for economic cooperation, Kirill Dmitriev. The two officials also had a walk in Zaryadye Park in downtown Moscow.
Deadline Looming
Witkoff’s visit to Russia marks the fifth since the start of the year. It came two days ahead of the deadline set by the US President, Donald Trump, for Russia to end the war in Ukraine.
Trump threatened Moscow with new economic sanctions if it did not reach a ceasefire Ukraine by August 8. He also threatened heavy tariffs on countries that buy Russian exports, particularly India and China – two of the largest Russian oil buyers.
Putin’s Options
Putin seemed to be unmoved by Trump’s threats, insisting that his demands to end the war in Ukraine remained unchanged and signaling that the war’s momentum was in Russia’s favor. It was not clear what he might propose to Witkoff to avert Trump’s threats.
One of the options could be proposing a moratorium on air strikes by Russia and Ukraine, Reuters reported citing Bloomberg and independent Russian news outlet The Bell. Although this would not meet the US’ demand of a full and immediate ceasefire, it might offer some relief to both sides.
Anti-Submarine Drill
In a separate development, Russia and China conducted an anti-submarine exercise in the Sea of Japan – days after Trump said he had moved nuclear submarines closer to Russia. The exercise was part of a broader series of joint naval drills.
On Wednesday, Russia’s Defense Ministry said that the Russian and Chinese navies have practiced hunting and destroying an enemy submarine. “As a result of effective joint actions, the ‘enemy’ submarine was promptly detected and mock-destroyed,” it said in a statement.
Trump’s decision to reposition nuclear submarines followed an online row with Russia’s former president and the deputy chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Medvedev.
