Trump Envoy Witkoff to meet with Putin in Russia: Axios
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Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy for the Middle East, is set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on April 11 in what will be their third round of talks.
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Steve Witkoff, White House special envoy, speaks during a television interview outside the White House, Wednesday, March 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP)
Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump's special envoy for the Middle East, has arrived in Russia and is scheduled to meet with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on April 11, Axios reported, citing sources and FlightRadar data.
The meeting would be the third between Witkoff and Putin, as Washington and Moscow seek a ceasefire in Ukraine. Witkoff has emerged as a central figure in the US president’s efforts to broker peace between Moscow and Kiev.
Wider cotext
US President Donald Trump has reportedly grown increasingly frustrated with the stalled pace of ceasefire negotiations in Ukraine, reportedly telling aides he was “pissed off” over remarks made by Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding the war.
According to Axios, if a ceasefire is not secured by the end of the month, Trump may pursue additional sanctions against Russia—either through executive action or by urging Congress to pass new legislation. “We will know soon enough, in a matter of weeks, not months, whether Russia is serious about peace or not. I hope they are,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last week at the NATO summit in Brussels.
In a bid to revive the talks, Trump’s special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, hosted Putin’s envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, in Washington last week. The meeting was aimed at breaking what officials described as a diplomatic “logjam.”
While Ukraine has accepted Trump’s proposal for an unconditional ceasefire—and later agreed to a limited maritime ceasefire—Russia responded with a new set of demands, including the rollback of certain US sanctions.
Despite the complications, Trump struck a cautiously optimistic tone during a Cabinet meeting on Thursday. “We are making progress. We hope that we are getting relatively close to getting a deal between Russia and Ukraine to stop the fighting,” he said.
US, Russian intelligence arrange prisoner swap in Abu Dhabi: WSJ
Separately, the US and Russia carried out a prisoner swap on Thursday that saw dual US-Russian national Ksenia Karelina freed by Moscow. The exchange stemmed from a prior meeting between Witkoff and Putin in March.
Trump expressed his gratitude for Karelina’s release, noting that Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White had told him she was the girlfriend of a UFC fighter and had requested help in securing her freedom.
Diplomatic engagement between the two nations also continued in Istanbul, where officials met on Thursday to discuss steps toward normalizing bilateral relations.
