Trump tells Russia to ‘get moving’ on Ukraine as Witkoff meets Putin

MOSCOW: US President Donald Trump on Friday told Moscow to “get moving” on ending its “senseless war” with Ukraine, moments before his envoy Steve Witkoff began talks with Vladimir Putin in Russia on the conflict.

Trump has been pressing Moscow and Kyiv to agree to a ceasefire since returning to the White House but has failed to extract any major concessions from the Kremlin despite repeated negotiations between Russian and US officials.

The US leader told NBC News last month that he was “pissed off” with his Russian counterpart, while top US diplomat Marco Rubio warned last week that Washington would not tolerate “endless negotiations” with Russia over the conflict.

“Russia has to get moving,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, adding that the conflict -- which began more than three years ago when Moscow sent troops into Ukraine -- was “senseless” and “should have never happened”. Kyiv and several of its Western allies suspect Russia of stalling the talks on purpose.

Shortly after Trump´s post, the Kremlin said talks between Putin and Witkoff had started. The meeting, taking place in Putin´s home city of Saint Petersburg, would touch on “various aspects of the Ukrainian settlement”, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.