Today, a meeting took place at the Kremlin between President Vladimir Putin and U.S. Presidential Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. The meeting was described as "useful and constructive." The Kremlin stated that more detailed information about the meeting would be provided after Witkoff briefs U.S. President Donald Trump on the discussions.

According to presidential advisor Yuri Ushakov, Witkoff received certain signals regarding the situation in Ukraine during the meeting, and "reciprocal signals" were also received from President Trump. Ushakov further stated that the Kremlin would not provide more detailed comments until the U.S. president was briefed on the results. He added that "our president has a complete understanding of the content, including our positions and those of the Americans."

The meeting, which took place on Wednesday morning at the Kremlin, lasted approximately three hours. According to the TASS news agency, the discussions were "useful and constructive," according to Ushakov. In addition to Putin and Witkoff, the meeting was also attended by Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and also a special representative for economic cooperation with foreign countries.

Witkoff arrived in Moscow early Wednesday morning, around 7:00 AM, and was greeted at Vnukovo Airport by Dmitriev. The two then took a short walk in the Zaryadye park in the city center, near the Kremlin. According to the AP news agency, this was Witkoff's fifth visit to Russia since the beginning of the year. He last visited Moscow on April 25th, and before that on April 11th in St. Petersburg. In both cases, he met directly with Putin.

The meeting comes at a time when the United States is increasing pressure on Russia regarding the war in Ukraine. President Trump announced several weeks ago that if an agreement to end the conflict is not reached by August 9th, the United States will impose new, strict sanctions on Russia and its main trading partners. Trump shortened the original 50-day deadline to 10 days on July 29th, and the following day he said that the decision on sanctions would depend on the results of Witkoff's talks in Moscow.

As Reuters pointed out, Trump also stated that Russia is "very skilled at circumventing sanctions" but that it could avoid further penalties if "people stop dying."

According to a report by the Spanish newspaper El País, the possibility of a so-called "air truce" – a moratorium on air strikes – was considered during the talks, but not a full-fledged ceasefire, as demanded by the United States and Ukraine. The American side reportedly rejected this proposal as insufficient.

The British newspaper The Times reported that the Kremlin is trying to appear conciliatory, but is also maintaining room for maneuver. Analysts quoted by AP also point out that Putin is not interested in abandoning his strategic goals and believes that they are militarily achievable.

According to a report by the American CNN, a White House official said that Trump "welcomes direct contact between the two sides" but will insist on "a measurable and verifiable result, not just signals." CNN also noted that the U.S. president considers Witkoff to be his trusted emissary, and that he expects concrete commitments regarding the reduction of fighting in eastern Ukraine.

gnews.cz - GH