MOSCOW, March 13 — U.S. officials have landed in Moscow for talks over the Ukraine crisis, Russian media reported on Thursday. The team was headed by U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, according to TASS news agency.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier on Thursday that contacts had been planned with U.S. negotiators. Peskov said that Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov and Trump’s National Security Advisor Mike Waltz talked over the phone on Wednesday, adding that “certain information” was provided to Russia during the conversation. He noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin may have an international phone call on Thursday evening, and did not rule out the possibility of other contacts. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday that Moscow is closely watching the recent U.S.-Ukraine meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and has reviewed their joint statement.
She added that Russia is ready to discuss the proposals with the United States, possibly as soon as Thursday. Ukraine on Tuesday signaled its readiness to accept a U.S. proposal for an “immediate, interim 30-day ceasefire” following talks with a U.S. delegation in Jeddah, according to their joint statement. The statement also said the truce could be extended by mutual agreement, adding that “the United States will communicate to Russia that Russian reciprocity is the key to achieving peace.” (Xinhua)
