Negotiators will engage in critical talks, with President Putin's response anticipated following detailed discussions.
**U.S.-Russia Negotiations Intensify Over Proposed Cease-Fire**
**U.S.-Russia Negotiations Intensify Over Proposed Cease-Fire**
American officials head to Moscow as discussions about a 30-day cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine gain momentum.
American and Russian diplomats are set to convene in Moscow on Thursday, as President Vladimir V. Putin considers a 30-day cease-fire proposal from the United States and Ukraine. Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitri S. Peskov, confirmed to the media that officials from the U.S. are making their way to Moscow for these discussions. "Negotiators are indeed flying in, and contacts are indeed planned," he stated.
Reports suggest that a plane associated with Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s envoy to the Middle East, landed in Moscow from Qatar. This marks Witkoff's second visit to Russia within a short span, following his previous meeting with Putin last month, which focused on finalizing a prisoner exchange deal. Ukraine has indicated it would consider a temporary cease-fire if Russia reciprocated.
Peskov revealed that Russia would issue its response to the cease-fire proposal only after American officials provide more in-depth details during their talks. "After we receive this information — not through the press but through bilateral dialogue — then the time will come for thinking it over and formulating a position," he explained.
On the same day, President Putin is expected to meet with his ally, the authoritarian president of Belarus, Aleksandr G. Lukashenko, to discuss the cease-fire and potentially offer the first public commentary on the situation. This diplomatic activity unfolds amid an intensified Russian military campaign aimed at pushing Ukrainian forces out of the strategically significant Kursk region, where Kyiv has made unexpected territorial gains.
Reports suggest that a plane associated with Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s envoy to the Middle East, landed in Moscow from Qatar. This marks Witkoff's second visit to Russia within a short span, following his previous meeting with Putin last month, which focused on finalizing a prisoner exchange deal. Ukraine has indicated it would consider a temporary cease-fire if Russia reciprocated.
Peskov revealed that Russia would issue its response to the cease-fire proposal only after American officials provide more in-depth details during their talks. "After we receive this information — not through the press but through bilateral dialogue — then the time will come for thinking it over and formulating a position," he explained.
On the same day, President Putin is expected to meet with his ally, the authoritarian president of Belarus, Aleksandr G. Lukashenko, to discuss the cease-fire and potentially offer the first public commentary on the situation. This diplomatic activity unfolds amid an intensified Russian military campaign aimed at pushing Ukrainian forces out of the strategically significant Kursk region, where Kyiv has made unexpected territorial gains.
