MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin met with US envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow on Wednesday, the Kremlin said, two days ahead of a deadline announced by US President Donald Trump for Russia to halt the war in Ukraine or face new sanctions.
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.
The Kremlin published a video of Putin shaking hands with Witkoff in the Kremlin before the talks. But it provided no further details.
After the meeting, Trump hailed talks between his envoy and Putin over the Ukraine war, but US officials said sanctions would still be imposed on Moscow’s trading partners.
“Great progress was made!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, adding that he had briefed some European allies on the talks between Witkoff and Putin in Moscow.
“Everyone agrees this War must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come.”
Minutes later, a senior US official said that “secondary sanctions” were still expected to be implemented on Friday.
The sanctions target Russia’s remaining trade partners, seeking to impede Moscow’s ability to survive already sweeping Western penalties.
Targeting Russian partners would aim to stifle Russian exports but would also risk significant international disruption.
Ahead of the meeting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky 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.
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”.
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 Zelensky last week urged his allies to push for “regime change” in Moscow.
“It is very important to strengthen all the levers in the arsenal of the United States, Europe, and the G7 so that a ceasefire truly comes into effect immediately. Ukraine sees the political will, appreciates the efforts of our partners, of America, and of everyone who is helping,” Zelensky wrote on social media on Wednesday after Witkoff landed in the Russian capital.
Nuclear rhetoric
Trump has increasingly voiced frustration with Putin in recent weeks over the ongoing Ukraine war.
When reporters asked Trump on Monday what Witkoff’s message would be to Moscow, and if there was anything Russia could do to avoid sanctions, Trump replied: “Yeah, get a deal where people stop getting killed.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday it considered the talks with Witkoff to be “important, substantial and helpful” and valued US efforts to end the conflict.
The visit comes with tensions running high between Moscow and Washington.
Trump said he had deployed two nuclear submarines following an online row with former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev were now “in the region.”
Trump has not said whether he meant nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed submarines. He also did not elaborate on the exact deployment locations, which are kept secret by the US military.
Russia, in its first comments on the deployment, urged “caution” on Monday.
Moscow then said it was ending a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear-capable intermediate-range missiles, suggesting it could deploy such weapons in response to what it alleged were similar US deployments within striking distance of Russia.
