President Trump’s top envoy met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday as he expressed his frustration with Moscow about his efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
Steve Witkov, whose title is a special envoy on the Middle East, plays a leading role in talks with Ukraine and Russia, faces Putin in what the White House calls “direct communication with the Kremlin.”
“I think the president was very clear that he was constantly irritated on both sides of this conflict, and he wants to see the end of the battle,” White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt told reporters during a press conference.
Earlier on Friday, Trump posted the truth about Russia “music has to get started.”
“Too many people are dying, thousands of people a week, in a terrible, meaningless war – if I were the president, it would never have happened, and it wouldn’t have happened!!” Trump posted.
Trump has been sought for months for a ceasefire in Ukraine, where fighting has been underway since the Russian invasion in February 2022, after bringing together troops near the border.
Ukrainian President Voldymir Zelensky said he accepted the conditions for a ceasefire laid out by Trump administration officials and placed the ball in a Russian court.
Critics argue that Russia is limping and is not interested in a ceasefire in order to make profits on the battlefield.
