US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff yesterday urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to consider resuming US-mediated peace talks with Ukraine and to review new ideas on ending the war amid Washington’s latest push to stop Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War Two.
The talks in a grand imperial palace in St Petersburg, the ninth time that Witkoff has met Putin in person, began with a goodwill gesture from Russia: the release of Stephen Hubbard, a retired US schoolteacher held in Russia.
Putin also offered to help US President Donald Trump in dealing with Iran, saying Russia had a decades-long relationship with Tehran which it had repeatedly offered to leverage to address US concerns about Iran’s nuclear programme. Russia could also supply large quantities of fertiliser to the United States to help US farmers, the Russian president told Witkoff, saying he wanted to discuss a potential meeting in China next month with Trump, which the Kremlin has suggested could also include Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The encounter comes amid concerns in Kyiv and among its allies that the United States is backing away from Ukraine, at times holding back real-time intelligence on Russian attacks and hobbling Ukraine’s military communications.
The latest talks also come more than two years since Trump promised in his successful election campaign to end the Ukraine war within 24 hours.
“One thing that I hope to accomplish today is to have some good conversation between us about the resumption potentially of trilateral talks between Ukraine and Russia and the United States,” Witkoff told Putin.
“Even if we don’t have a resolution today, if we just talk about and sort of consider what that next step might be I think that would be important and the world is waiting to hear that”.
The last US-mediated peace talks took place in February before the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran.
Ukraine and Russia remain far apart when it comes to the terms of any possible peace deal, but Trump has recently intensified pressure on Ukraine to strike some kind of a deal. He said on Tuesday it was time for Ukraine to end the war or face “a very bad thing.” —Reuters
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