3 months Ago
Meet Witkoff, who was greeted in the Russian capital by envoy Kirill Dmitriev. His journey comes after an announcement US President Trump made earlier this week, stressing that a ceasefire agreement was essential.
Trump's Warning and Russia's Reaction
The United States is ready to announce new sanctions on Russia if it doesn't agree to a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine by Friday, President Trump said at a news conference in Paris. It would include similar steps related to other buyers of Russian oil and gas elsewhere, part of an effort to ratchet up pressure on Moscow over its military activities.
Warned against this, Russia does not seem intimidated by the deadline. The country reiterated its position on running operations in Ukraine, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov insisting nothing had changed. He added that Russia remained committed to a peace process.
Witkoff's visit — the first of any senior U.S. official to Belarus in several months — came at a critical point during diplomatic efforts to defuse the standoff, with unknown results from his meetings.
