Ukraine battle newest: Putin’s ceasefire situations ‘not ok’ says Starmer following Ukraine summit | World Information

By Ivor Bennett, Moscow correspondent

Steve Witkoff did not keep lengthy within the Russian capital earlier this week.

In line with footage posted of his motorcade leaving and returning to Moscow’s Vnukovo airport, he was right here for little greater than 12 hours. 

And for many of that, it appears, he was left ready.

Witkoff, a former property mogul who has develop into Donald Trump’s chief negotiator, had been dispatched to Moscow to ship the US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire to Vladimir Putin.

His go to had been scheduled close to the beginning of the week, following the US-Ukraine talks in Saudi Arabia. 

However after arriving round lunchtime on Thursday, he was left twiddling his thumbs for not less than eight hours earlier than being known as into the Kremlin.

Vladimir Putin was apparently too busy assembly another person – Belarusian chief Aleksander Lukashenko – for a rapidly organized state go to that had been introduced the day earlier than.

Was ally’s go to a traditional Putin energy play?

We do not know for positive if the timing of Lukashenko’s go to was deliberate, however it definitely did not really feel like a coincidence. 

As a substitute it felt like a traditional Putin energy play. 

The Kremlin chief would not wish to be backed right into a nook and advised what to do, particularly on his personal turf.

This felt like a message to the Individuals – I am the boss, I set the schedule and I am not beholden to anybody.

He did finally grant Witkoff that all-important face time, as soon as evening had fallen and behind closed-doors.

We do not understand how lengthy they spoke for, nor the precise particulars of their dialogue, however I feel we will make a reasonably good guess given Vladimir Putin’s feedback earlier within the night.

At a press convention alongside Lukashenko, he made it abundantly clear that he’ll solely signal as much as a ceasefire if he will get one thing in return.

And it is not only one factor he needs. 

All Russia’s pink strains stay

By the sounds of issues, he nonetheless needs the whole lot.

His remark concerning the “root causes” of the battle suggests all of Russia’s pink strains stay – no NATO membership for Ukraine, no NATO troops as peacekeepers, and for Russia to maintain all of the territory it has seized. 

In line with Russian media outlet Radio Mayak, Putin’s conferences within the Kremlin completed at 1.30am.

Round half an hour later, Witkoff was again on the airport – leaving Russia, it appears – not with Putin’s settlement however with an inventory of calls for.

It is now as much as Donald Trump to resolve what to do subsequent.