Moscow: The coming week could bring an important moment in the war between Russia and Ukraine, as US President Donald Trump’s deadline for the Kremlin to reach a peace deal approaches — or it could simply melt away.
US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff was expected in Moscow in the middle of this week, just before Trump’s Friday deadline for the Kremlin to stop the killing or face potentially severe economic penalties from Washington.
Previous Trump promises, threats and cajoling have failed to yield results., and the stubborn diplomatic stalemate will be hard to clear away. Meanwhile, Ukraine is losing more territory on the front line, although there is no sign of a looming collapse of its defences.
Witkoff was expected to land in the Russian capital on Wednesday or Thursday, according to Trump, following his trip to Israel and Gaza.
“They would like to see (Witkoff),” Trump said Sunday of the Russians.
“They’ve asked that he meet so we’ll see what happens.” Trump, exasperated that Russian President Vladimir Putin hasn’t heeded his calls to stop bombing Ukrainian cities, a week ago moved up his ultimatum to impose additional sanctions on Russia as well as introduce secondary tariffs targeting countries that buy Russian oil, including China and India.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that officials are happy to meet with Trump’s envoy. “We are always glad to see Mr Witkoff in Moscow,” he said.