Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff met Vladimir Putin in Moscow to discuss the proposed 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine – but was reportedly made to wait eight hours first
Donald Trump’s special envoy was forced to wait eight hours for his meeting with Vladimir Putin in a classic “power play” by the Russian leader.
On Thursday, Putin met with US envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow to discuss the American proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in the war with Ukraine after rejecting the deal in its current form. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said today that the Russian president asked Mr Witkoff to pass on Russia’s positions to Donald Trump, and agreed to a phonecall between the two of them.
The US envoy was only in Russia for a total of 12 hours – and is reported to have spent at least eight of them waiting for the meeting to start. Putin’s aides told him his meeting with Belarus’s Alexander Lukashenko had overran.
Commentators described this as a typical Kremlin “power play”, as Putin is known for routinely being late to meetings as a way of signalling his status. In the early days of his presidency he turned up 14 minutes late for a reception with the Queen Elizabeth II, and even kept the families of young children killed in a Russian plane crash waiting at a cemetery for two hours back in 2002. He was also 50 minutes late to a meeting with Pope Francis in 2013. It is behaviour said to be replicated in Putin’s private life, and his ex-wife, Lyudmila Putina, claimed she was often left in tears by him turning up at least one hour late when they went on dates.
Yesterday, Putin said at a press conference alongside Lukashenko that he supported a truce with Ukraine in principle – but made a series of demands that need to met before it is agreed. He said: “We agree with the proposal for a ceasefire to cease hostilities, but we proceed from the fact that this ceasefire should lead to an enduring peace, and should remove the root causes of this crisis.”
Putin also spoke of his visit to Kursk, where Russian troops are attempting to force back a Ukrainian counteroffensive in their own territory. He said “the situation is fully under our control, and the group that invaded our territory has been fully isolated”. The Russian leader added that Ukrainian troops can no longer leave the area, and they will have to “surrender or die” before a deal is reached reached.
Trump has claimed his team had held “very good and productive” discussions with Vladimir Putin. In a post on his Truth Social site this morning, Trump said “that there is a very good chance that this horrible, bloody war can finally come to an end,” urging Putin to spare the lives of Ukrainian troops surrounded by the Russian military.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer meanwhile warned Vladimir Putin to “stop playing games” ahead of a major virtual summit between world leaders this weekend. Leaders from European countries, the EU Commission, NATO, Canada, Ukraine, Australia and New Zealand are expected to join Number 10’s call on Saturday following days of frantic diplomacy to secure a peace deal.
Mr Starmer said: “We can’t allow President Putin to play games with President Trump’s deal. The Kremlin’s complete disregard for President Trump’s ceasefire proposal only serves to demonstrate that Putin is not serious about peace.If Russia finally comes to the table, then we must be ready to monitor a ceasefire to ensure it is a serious, and enduring peace, if they don’t, then we need to strain every sinew to ramp up economic pressure on Russia to secure an end to this war.”
