Weitkov Holds Talks in Moscow Before Trump's Deadline

SadaNews - On Wednesday, U.S. envoy Steve Weitkov arrived in Moscow where he will meet with Russian leadership, just days before the deadline set by U.S. President Donald Trump for Russia to end the war in Ukraine.

Russian news agency TASS reported that Weitkov arrived in Moscow and was welcomed by Kirill Dmitriev, the special representative of President Vladimir Putin.

Weitkov and Dmitriev toured the Zaryadye Park located near the Kremlin, according to a video posted by the agency.

The Kremlin stated the day before yesterday that President Vladimir Putin may meet with the U.S. envoy during his visit to Moscow.

Weitkov has previously met with the Russian president multiple times in Moscow, but the diplomatic efforts led by the U.S. envoy tasked with several missions worldwide have not resulted in any outcomes.

This visit comes amid escalating relations between Moscow and Washington following Trump's decision on Friday to deploy two nuclear submarines after an exchange on social media with former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who currently serves as Deputy Chairman of the Security Council.

The U.S. president has given Russia until Friday to end the war in Ukraine under the threat of new unspecified sanctions, which could include very high tariffs imposed on countries purchasing Russian oil, primarily India and China.

Will the Visit Succeed?

In this context, three sources close to the Kremlin told Reuters that it is unlikely Putin will comply with Trump's deadline as he believes Russia is winning the war, and that his military goals take precedence over his desire to improve relations with the United States.

Gerhard Mangott, an Austrian analyst and a member of a group of Western academics and journalists who have regularly met with Putin over the years, stated, "Weitkov's visit is a last-ditch attempt to find a solution that preserves face for both sides, but I don’t believe there will be any kind of settlement between them."

He added in a phone interview, "Russia will insist that it is ready for a ceasefire, but only under the conditions it has set over the past two or three years."

He further stated, "Trump will be under pressure to implement what he announced, which is to raise tariffs on all countries buying oil and gas, possibly uranium as well, from Russia."

Russian sources told Reuters that Putin is skeptical that increased U.S. sanctions will have a significant impact after successive waves of them over 3.5 years of war.

Two of these sources indicated that the Russian president does not want to anger Trump, recognizing he might waste an opportunity to improve relations with Washington and the West, but his war objectives are more important to him.

U.S.-Russia Relations

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the official TASS news agency in statements published today that improving relations with the United States will take time.

Peskov, pointing to the long absence of a meeting between President Putin and his U.S. counterpart, said, "There is of course stagnation in this process," adding that, "It takes time to return bilateral relations to their normal course."

TASS reported that for the first time in modern Russian history, more than six months have passed since the inauguration of a new U.S. president without holding a summit with President Putin.

Source: Agencies