Trump's diplomatic envoy travels to Russia for third meeting with Putin

Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s diplomatic envoy, has traveled to Russia for what is expected to be his third meeting with President Vladimir Putin on April 11, according to a source familiar with the trip, quoted by Axios, and confirmed by FlightRadar data.

The meeting comes at a critical moment as Trump continues to push for a ceasefire in the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. Trump has expressed frustration over the lack of progress in negotiations in recent weeks, even stating that he was “pissed off” over comments made by Putin regarding Ukraine.

The stakes are high, as Trump has indicated that if a ceasefire is not reached by the end of the month, he may proceed with additional sanctions against Russia, either through executive action or by asking Congress to pass new legislation. A source familiar with the situation revealed that Trump is prepared to take action in the coming weeks, as opposed to months, to determine whether Russia is serious about pursuing peace.

“We will know soon enough, in a matter of weeks, not months, whether Russia is serious about peace or not. I hope they are,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated last week during the NATO summit in Brussels.

In the days leading up to the trip, Witkoff hosted Putin's envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, in Washington in an attempt to break the diplomatic deadlock. While Ukraine has agreed to Trump’s proposal for an unconditional ceasefire, as well as plans for a smaller-scale maritime ceasefire, Russia has put forward new demands, including the lifting of certain U.S. sanctions.

“We are making progress. We hope that we are getting relatively close to getting a deal between Russia and Ukraine to stop the fighting,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting on April 10, indicating cautious optimism about the talks.

By Tamilla Hasanova