Russian President Vladimir Putin and White House special envoy Steve Witkoff, met for nearly three hours at the Kremlin to discuss a possible ceasefire agreement in Ukraine, as reported by the Russian presidency.
PUBLICIDAD
This was the fifth meeting between Putin and Witkoff since the beginning of the year -the last one took place in April- without the Russian leader having accepted the demand to declare a ceasefire in his invasion of Ukraine.
PUBLICIDAD
In the images provided by television, Putin and Witkoff were seen shaking hands at the Kremlin in the presence of the international advisor to the Russian presidency, Yuri Ushakov.
According to a report by The Associated Press, the discussions were “very useful and constructive,” stated Ushakov, adding that they addressed the issue of Ukraine and the relations between the United States and Russia. “Our side has sent some signals, particularly regarding the Ukrainian issue, and corresponding signals were received from President Trump,” Ushakov added in a statement to Russian state media.
Will there be an agreement before Trump’s sanctions?
Donald Trump announced that he would impose sanctions on Russia and its trading partners if an agreement on the Ukraine war was not reached, reducing the deadline from 50 to 10 days on July 29, meaning it ends this Friday, August 8.
“If the deadline arrives and Russia has not accepted a ceasefire, there will be sanctions. But it looks quite good to avoid the sanctions. They are smart people and quite skilled at evading them,” Trump insisted over the weekend.
The international press speculates that Moscow would be willing to suspend the aerial bombardments, but not the ground offensive of its troops in the Donbas and the northern border of Ukraine.
In case there is no agreement on Ukraine that satisfies the White House, Trump could announce sanctions against Russia and secondary tariffs against Russian oil importers, namely, India and China.