Vladimir Putin welcomed Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff with open arms at the Kremlin on Friday afternoon. It came as Mr Trump told Time Magazine that “Crimea will stay with Russia” as part of the US’s proposal for peace in Ukraine.
Mr Witkoff, who is meeting Putin for the third time in four months, is expected to present Mr Trump’s seven-point plan for peace while at the Kremlin.
The Telegraph reported earlier this week that the plan involved letting Putin keep almost all the territory he has seized from Ukraine since 2022, as well as Crimea, which he invaded in 2014.
As Mr Witkoff arrived this morning, a senior Russian military officer was killed in a car bombing in Moscow.
It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the attack, though Ukraine’s SBU intelligence service has been known to target high-profile military officers on Russian soil.
In Washington, president Trump said peace negotiations were progressing but fragile.
“I think Russia and Ukraine, I think they’re coming along. We hope, very fragile,” Mr Trump said.
“I think we’re pretty close. No deadline. I just want to do it as fast as possible,” he added.
Telegraph
