Trump Steve Witkoff’s envoy is in Russia, says the Kremlin

On Friday in Russia he arrived in Russia to try to make progress in the interviews of ceased fire in his war with Ukraine, meeting the president Vladimir V. Putin in St. Petersburg.

More or less in the same period, Ukraine allies met in Brussels to announce a new military support in Kyiv and expressed doubts about the commitment of Moscow for peace.

The couple of meetings highlighted the approaches enlarged to the crisis between the United States and Europe.

Russia shows little sign that it is interested in peace, the German defense minister, Boris Pistorius, told Brussels. He announced an increase in military support for Ukraine after a meeting of the group of Ukrainian defense contacts, representing about 50 countries, including the United States.

Defense secretary Pete Hegseth has participated virtually, as well as President Volodymyr Zelensky’s president of Ukraine and many other ministers.

Russia must understand that Ukraine can continue the struggle, Pistorius said. “Given the ongoing aggression of Russia against Ukraine, we must grant peace in Ukraine seems to be out of reach in the immediate future,” he said. “We assure that Ukraine continues to benefit from our joint military support.” Russia, he said, “is not yet interested in peace”.

Trump asked that both sides agree on an immediate ceased for 30 days, hoping to extend this pause in the negotiations on a more permanent resolution of the long war. Ukraine agreed, but Putin did not do it, asking instead to remove some of the western sanctions against his country first in addition to wider commitments that “remove the causes of the root of this crisis”.

Special correspondent for Trump on negotiations with Russia, Steve WitkoffExpected to meet Mr. Putin, probably for many hours – although “like President Putin needs”, according to Dmitri S. Peskov, spokesperson for the Kremlin.

It would be their third session since Moscow and Washington started working to restore the relationship and find a way to end the war in Ukraine.

Peskov said that the meeting is unlikely to produce decisive results, but he stressed that the work is underway to “normalize the relationship”. Ukraine and a potential meeting between Trump and Mr. Putin are probably on the agenda, according to the Russian state press agency Tass.

Upon arrival in St. Petersburg, Mr. Witkoff met Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s special correspondent for international investments and economic affairs, according to Tass.

In Brussels, European nations have renewed the declarations of support for Ukraine. He will need western financial and military support even if the conflict ends to try to guarantee that Russia does not try to complete its conquest of Ukraine along the way.

The defense secretary John Healey of Great Britain, who has copied the meeting with Mr. Pistorius, announced more than 21 billion euros ($ 23.8 billion) in military aid commitments to Ukraine by the NATO allies and focus on Ukraine a greater aerial defense, drones, equipment and ability to repair it within the country.

“We send a signal to Putin, but we are also sending a message to Ukraine and we are saying to Ukraine, we are with you in the struggle and we will stay with you in peace,” said Healey.

It was the 27th meeting of what is known as contact group, initially organized by the United States. Washington sold the group’s presidency, but Mr. Hegseth participated in the discussion, said Pistorius.

Pistorius said that American aid to Ukraine continues. The Ukrainian Defense Minister, Rustem Umerov, praised the United States as an “main partner” of Ukraine and said that Mr. Hegseth’s participation “means that the United States continues his security assistance and is next to us”.

For the future, however, Mr. Pistorius was careful. “In the weeks to come we will see what will happen with an American participation, with the support of the United States,” he said. “I’m not able to take a look in the crystal sphere.”

On Thursday, in Brussels, Healey has covered a meeting of countries in support of Ukraine to discuss options for a possible “reassurance force” to help Ukraine to guarantee its future after any peace agreement and to help discourage Russia in the years to come. These plans remain noise, but France and Great Britain want to have detailed options for European participation, also insisting on the fact that the United States provide key elements such as air coverage, without troops on the ground.

Mr. Witkoff recently became the first high American official to go to Moscow to meet Mr. Putin since then Russian invasion of Ukraine At the beginning of 2022. The Biden administration interrupted contact with Mr. Putin and accused him of having committed crimes against humanity in Ukraine.

Delegate by Mr. Trump as his correspondent sent, Mr. Witkoff seems to pursue a different approach. After his first meeting in Cremlin, Mr. Witkoff he said that He had tried to develop “a friendship, a relationship” with Mr. Putin.

Assios For the first time The news of the journey of Mr. Witkoff in Russia.

Mr. Witkoff should be in Oman on Saturday for the interviews with Iran Foreign Minister on the equally irritated question of the growing Iran nuclear enrichment program.