US envoy Steve Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin for a three-hour meeting at the Kremlin on Wednesday, as Washington pushes for an end to the war in Ukraine. The talks come just two days before the expiry of a deadline set by US President Donald Trump for Moscow to agree to peace or face fresh sanctions.Trump, writing on his Truth Social platform, said the meeting was “highly productive” and hinted at diplomatic progress.“My Special Envoy, Steve Witkoff, just had a highly productive meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Great progress was made!” he posted. “Afterwards, I updated some of our European Allies. Everyone agrees this War must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come.”The Kremlin has not issued a statement yet, and it’s still unclear if any specific decisions were made during the meeting. However, the US says it will still impose sanctions on Russia’s trading partners despite talks, reports news agency AFP.The visit was planned as a last-minute attempt to stop more sanctions. Trump has been openly frustrated with the slow progress in ending the over-3-year war. He warned that countries still trading with Russia, like India and China, could face high tariffs.Reports by Bloomberg and Russian outlet The Bell reported that the Kremlin may propose a temporary halt to air strikes by both Russia and Ukraine as a potential compromise. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko reportedly discussed the same idea with Putin last week. Since peace talks resumed in May, Russia has escalated its air attacks. At least 72 people were killed in recent strikes on Kyiv, which Trump last week condemned as “disgusting”.On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he spoke with Trump after US envoy visited Moscow.
