US President Donald Trump, Steve Vitcoff, went to Russia for important negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The meeting will take place on Friday, April 11, and is already the third in the context of US attempts to find a way to cease fire in a conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Axios, which refers to its sources and Flightradar data, reports about it.
This diplomatic mission occurs against the background of increasing pressure from the international community in Russia. The United States, in particular, is concerned that negotiations on termination of hostilities in eastern Ukraine do not produce significant results, despite numerous diplomatic efforts.
This is the third meeting of Trump Special Support Stephen Witcoff with Vladimir Putin. The first two meetings were held in the framework of active negotiations between Moscow and Washington on the possibility of termination of war in eastern Ukraine. At the same time, according to sources, during the meetings it was not possible to make significant progress in resolving the conflict, and the promised truce was never implemented in practice.
In addition, Vitcoff this week accepted in Washington a representative of the Kremlin Kirill Dmitriev. This indicates that the US and Russia seek to maintain a dialogue, albeit with a different approach to resolving the issue of war in Ukraine.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed his disappointment about the lack of significant progress in peace talks. Trump has repeatedly emphasized that the US is ready to support a peaceful resolution of the conflict, but the continuation of hostilities and the lack of a real cease ceasefire are questioned by the effectiveness of negotiations.
Axios notes that Trump's administration is considering strengthening sanctions against Russia, unless significant progress has been made by the end of April to terminate the fighting. In particular, Trump may adopt new sanctions through the executive power or apply to Congress to adopt new sanctions.
Trump has repeatedly mentioned the possibility of strengthening sanctions as an important tool to force Russia to negotiate. The US Administration has repeatedly imposed sanctions against Russia in response to its aggressive policy in the international arena. Now, if peace talks do not produce results by the end of the month, US leaders can again apply economic and political restrictions on Russia.
Trump has repeatedly said that he does not like the "soft approach" of some European partners who are not ready for decisive steps against Russia, and he strives for a more rigid position. With this in mind, the US administration can prepare new sanctions to increase pressure on the Kremlin and make Putin agree to the ceasefire.
The meeting of Vitcoff with Putin's representative Kirill Dmitriev in Washington was also part of diplomatic efforts to make contact with Russia. However, it is obvious that in the United States there is a disappointment about how Moscow is negotiating. Washington's position on possible sanctions in the event of failure to comply with arrangements is quite clear.
