US President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow yesterday for a three-hour discussion about the US plan to end the war in Ukraine, and the Kremlin announced that the two sides had come closer in their positions.
Yuri Ushakov, the Kremlin's foreign policy adviser who took part in the meeting, described the talks as constructive and very useful. "This conversation allowed Russia and the United States to further bring their positions closer together, not only on Ukraine, but also on a number of other international issues," he told reporters. "As for the Ukrainian conflict itself, the discussion focused in particular on the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between representatives of the Russian Federation and Ukraine."
The meeting between Vitkoff and Putin was overshadowed by the assassination of a senior Russian official, which the Kremlin blamed on Ukraine. Russian authorities said that Lieutenant General Yaroslav Moskalik, deputy head of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, was killed in a car explosion near Moscow.
"The Kiev regime is once again showing its true nature. The Kiev regime continues to engage in terrorist activities on the territory of our country," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
"This shows once again that, despite the peace talks, we must be vigilant and understand the nature of this regime."
The explosion, as reported by the Guardian, is reminiscent of previous attacks on Russian targets, for which Ukraine later claimed responsibility. The Ukrainian SBU intelligence service killed Colonel General Igor Kirillov in a similar manner last December.
State media reported that Moskalik also held the rank of colonel general. His position in the Defense Ministry allowed him to play a significant role in planning Russian military operations, including those in Ukraine.
Moskalik, according to Reuters, previously participated in several high-ranking Russian delegations that met with Western officials in attempts to reach a negotiated solution to the conflict in Ukraine.
"According to available information, the explosion occurred due to the detonation of an improvised explosive device loaded with lethal ammunition," the Investigative Committee said.
Viktof's visit to Moscow yesterday was the fourth of its kind in recent months, Reuters points out.
Witkoff, a real estate billionaire, has become Washington's key intermediary with Putin as Trump seeks to reach a deal to end the war, now well into its fourth year.
Witkoff has occasionally been accused of repeating Kremlin narratives. For example, in an interview with journalist Tucker Carlson last month, he said there was no reason Russia would want to annex Ukraine or take more of its territory, and that it was "nonsense" to think Putin would want to send his army on a campaign across Europe.
His latest trip followed talks earlier this week, during which Ukrainian and European officials rejected some of the US proposals for resolving the conflict.
Trump has been stressing the importance of Witkoff's visit in recent days, claiming that a peace deal is within reach. "The next few days are going to be very important. The meetings are happening right now," Trump told reporters on Thursday. "I think we're going to make a deal... I think we're very close."
In an interview with Time magazine published yesterday, Trump also stated that "Crimea will remain with Russia. And Zelensky understands that, and everyone understands that it has been under their control for a long time."
During the interview, Trump, as reported by The Guardian, posed next to a portrait of himself, which was reportedly given to him by Putin - in a symbolic gesture indicating the close ties between the two leaders.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this week that recognizing Crimea as part of Russia would violate the Ukrainian constitution.
Reuters published two sets of documents yesterday that outline US and Ukrainian proposals for ending Russia's war in Ukraine, revealing significant differences in positions on issues ranging from territorial concessions to sanctions.
According to documents seen by Reuters, the peace proposal presented by Witkoff envisages formal recognition of Russian control over Crimea by the United States as well as de facto recognition of Russian authority over areas in southern and eastern Ukraine that are under the control of Russian forces.
The conflicting European and Ukrainian documents stipulate that detailed discussions on territorial issues will be postponed until a ceasefire is reached, without any mention of recognizing Russian control over Ukrainian territory. There are also differences of opinion regarding the lifting of sanctions against Russia, the form of security guarantees for Ukraine, and the future size of the Ukrainian army.
The latest assassination of a Russian officer deep inside Russian territory is unlikely to go down well with the Trump administration, which is desperately trying to show tangible progress toward peace before Trump's first 100 days in office are up next week.
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