In order to negotiate a possible ceasefire with Ukraine, US diplomats have arrived in Moscow.
In an attempt to persuade Russia to accept a 30-day truce that Ukraine agreed to earlier this week in negotiations with the United States, special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived on Thursday morning.
Dmitry Peskov, the spokesperson for the Kremlin, had earlier stated that negotiations with the United States were planned, but he added, “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, we’ll tell you about them later.”
The US visit coincides with claims by the Russian military that it has retaken Sudzha, a strategic town in the Kursk region that Ukraine unexpectedly seized last year.
During his Wednesday visit to Kursk, President Vladimir Putin met with military leaders who informed him that Russian forces had retaken 86% of the region and were nearing the end of the process of expelling Ukrainian forces.
Trump claimed to have had “positive messages” regarding the prospect of a ceasefire on Wednesday.
“But a positive message means nothing,” he stated. “This is a very serious situation.”
Trump made no mention of the officials who were going to Moscow.
But National Security Secretary Mike Waltz had a conversation with his Russian counterpart, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt informed reporters.
“We implore the Russians to support this strategy. “We have never been this close to peace in this war,” Leavitt remarked.
There are “lot of downside” for Russia as well, Trump stated in the Oval Office, adding that he thinks a ceasefire would be sensible for Russia without providing any other information.
“On one side, a really complicated matter has been resolved. Almost resolved. We’ve also talked about land and related topics,” Trump continued. “We know the areas of land we’re talking about, whether it’s pull back or not pull back.”
Trump claimed he “can do things financially” to put pressure on Russia.
“That would be very bad for Russia,” he stated. “I don’t want to do that because I want to get peace.”
The Jeddah encounter was the first between US and Ukrainian officials since a meeting between Zelensky, Trump, and Vice-President JD Vance on February 28 turned into a heated argument that culminated with a suspension of US military aid and intelligence exchange.
After the discussion in Jeddah, the pause was lifted, and Trump stated that he thinks Zelensky and the “difficult” Ukrainian side now desire peace.
Fighting in Ukraine has continued despite ongoing talks over a possible truce.
Overnight, targets in Zelensky’s hometown of Kryvyy Rih, the port city of Odesa, Dnipro, and Kharkiv were reportedly hit by Russian drones and missiles.
Conflicts also persisted in the Kursk region of Russia, where Peskov reported that Russian forces were “successfully advancing” and retaking territory that Ukrainian forces had previously controlled.
In August of last year, Ukrainian troops launched a surprise invasion of the Ukrainian border region in western Russia. Russia has now retaken the majority of the towns and villages that Ukraine claimed to have conquered during its height.
According to Russian media, Putin gave the military orders to “fully liberate” the area while he was there. Regarding the ceasefire agreement that Ukraine and the US agreed upon Tuesday, he has not yet responded.
Oleksandr Syrsky, the leader of Ukraine’s military, also hinted Wednesday that some of his forces were leaving Kursk. “My priority has been and continues to be saving the lives of Ukrainian soldiers in the most trying situation,” he wrote in a Telegram post.
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