US envoy Witkoff arrives in Russia for talks with Putin after meeting Zelenskyy
US envoy Steve Witkoff has arrived in Saint Petersburg to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. The trip follows talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Oslo, which US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called positive.
Steve Witkoff, the envoy of US President Donald Trump, has arrived in Saint Petersburg to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. The visit comes right after his talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Oslo, the Norwegian capital, which US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described as positive. The trip is part of efforts to ease tensions between Trump and Zelenskyy over Russia's war against Ukraine.
Intelligence sharing resumed
After the Oslo meeting, Zelenskyy on Tuesday thanked Washington for resuming the sharing of intelligence on Russian strikes. He told reporters that early warnings of incoming ballistic missiles are "very, very important" for people in Ukraine, including children and adults.
Strained ties between Kyiv and Washington
The latest talks follow several days of tension between Kyiv and Washington. The relationship between Zelenskyy and Trump has been volatile since the US president began his second term in January last year, but it worsened in recent weeks. The reasons were Trump's diesel deal with Putin and his criticism of the effect of Ukrainian strikes on Russia's energy sector on global fuel prices.
Calls to make a deal
On Tuesday at the White House, Trump again urged Zelenskyy to "make a deal" with Russia, as Moscow steps up its strikes on Ukraine ahead of winter. Zelenskyy, for his part, has accused Washington of delaying deliveries of interceptor missiles that European countries have already paid for. Some shipments are reportedly waiting for US approval.
The Ukrainian president also stressed that Kyiv must take part in any negotiations on its future. He said that questions concerning Ukraine and its future are acceptable only when Ukraine is at the negotiating table.
