Russian officials “expressed a desire” to meet with US President Donald Trump during a meeting with the US special envoy in Moscow, the White House said on Wednesday.
Spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt reiterated that “great progress” had been made during Steve Witkoff’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and said Trump was “open to meeting with both President Putin and President Zelensky.”
“President Trump wants this brutal war to end,” she added.
Witkoff arrived in Moscow earlier on Wednesday for his fifth visit to Russia this year.
He last met with Putin on April 25. The visit came two days before Trump’s 10-day deadline for Russia to reach a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine.
Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s top aide, called the meeting “useful and constructive.” The officials, he said, discussed the Kremlin’s war on Ukraine and the prospects for developing strategic cooperation between Moscow and Washington.
He said Russia had conveyed “some signals” about the conflict and that “appropriate signals” had been received on behalf of Trump.
In June, Trump gave Russia a 50-day deadline, after which he threatened to impose import tariffs of up to 100 percent on Russia and its trading partners if Moscow and Kiev did not reach a peace agreement.
On July 29, Trump said he had decided to reduce that deadline to 10 days due to “disappointment” with Putin.
A Bloomberg report said Russia was considering options for concessions to Trump, including a pause in drone and missile strikes, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter.
The report added that an “air pause” could be one potential proposal from Russia, provided that Ukraine also agrees to participate.
