US envoy to visit Moscow as US pushes for ceasefire

Moscow: US envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to visit Russia this week, a Kremlin aide said Tuesday, as US President Donald Trump seeks a speedy deal to...

Moscow: US envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to visit Russia this week, a Kremlin aide said Tuesday, as US President Donald Trump seeks a speedy deal to end the three-year Ukraine conflict.

Trump, who promised on the campaign trail to strike a deal between Moscow and Kyiv in 24 hours, has failed since his return to office three months ago to wrangle concessions from Russian President Vladimir Putin to halt his troops in Ukraine.

Trump said over the weekend he hoped a peace deal could be struck "this week" despite no signs the two sides were anywhere close to agreeing even a ceasefire, let alone a wider long-term settlement.

Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned Tuesday against rushing into a speedy ceasefire, telling a state TV reporter that the issue was too "complex" for a quick fix.

"It is not worth setting any rigid time frames and trying to get a settlement, a viable settlement, in a short timeframe," he said.