Trump tells Russia to 'get moving' on Ukraine as Witkoff meets Putin
The Hindu
President Trump urges Russia to end war with Ukraine, as envoy Steve Witkoff begins talks with Putin.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday (April 11, 2025) told Moscow to "get moving" on ending its "senseless war" with Ukraine, moments before his envoy Steve Witkoff began talks with Vladimir Putin in Russia on the conflict.
Mr. Trump has been pressing Moscow and Kyiv to agree to a ceasefire since returning to the White House in January but has failed to extract any major concessions from the Kremlin despite repeated negotiations between Russian and U.S. officials.
The U.S. leader told NBC News last month that he was "pissed off" with his Russian counterpart, while top U.S. diplomat Marco Rubio warned last week that Washington would not tolerate "endless negotiations" with Russia over the conflict.
"Russia has to get moving," Mr. Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, adding that the conflict — which began more than three years ago when Moscow sent troops into Ukraine — was "senseless" and "should have never happened".
Shortly after Mr. Trump's post, the Kremlin said talks between Mr. Putin and Mr. Witkoff had started. The meeting, taking place in Mr. Putin's home city of Saint Petersburg, would touch on "various aspects of the Ukrainian settlement", Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
"There is no need to expect any breakthroughs here, the process of normalising relations is ongoing," Peskov was quoted as saying by Russian state media.
When asked whether the two would discuss a possible meeting between Mr. Putin and Mr. Trump, Mr. Peskov was quoted as saying: "Maybe".
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