Kremlin says Russia does not rule out talks between Putin, Witkoff this week

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Kremlin on Monday said that Moscow does not rule out a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US special envoy Steve Witkoff this week, as the latter is set to conduct a visit to the country.

“We do not rule out the possibility of holding such a meeting,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters during a press briefing.

Peskov’s remarks came as US President Donald Trump said Sunday that Witkoff may travel to Russia “Wednesday or Thursday.”

The visit would be taking place days before a 10-day deadline set by Trump for Russia to reach a ceasefire deal with Ukraine, which will expire on Aug. 8.

In June, Trump had given Russia a 50-day window, after which he threatened to impose import duties of up to 100% on Russia and its trading partners unless Moscow and Kyiv reach an agreement.

On July 29, Trump announced that he had decided to reduce that deadline to 10 days over his "disappointment" with Putin.

During his conversation with journalists, Peskov also said that Russia does not rule out the possibility of a meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but noted this would take place “after the necessary work has been done at the expert level and the necessary distance has been covered.”