Kremlin calls Putin-Witkoff talks ‘constructive’ ahead of US sanctions deadline

Talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff were "useful and constructive," Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said on Wednesday. (AFP/File)
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Updated 06 August 2025
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Kremlin calls Putin-Witkoff talks ‘constructive’ ahead of US sanctions deadline

  • Witkoff held around three hours of talks with Putin in the Kremlin

MOSCOW: Talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US special envoy Steve Witkoff were “useful and constructive,” Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said on Wednesday.

Witkoff held around three hours of talks with Putin in the Kremlin, two days before the expiry of a deadline set by President Donald Trump for Russia to agree to peace in Ukraine or face new sanctions.

Ushakov told Russian news outlet Zvezda that the two sides discussed the conflict in Ukraine and the potential for improving US-Russia relations. He said Moscow had received certain “signals” from Trump and had sent messages in return.


Trump says Cuba, a ‘failed nation,’ should make a deal with US

Updated 17 February 2026
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Trump says Cuba, a ‘failed nation,’ should make a deal with US

  • The island is facing major fuel shortages and blackouts as Trump intensifies the decades-long US embargo on the country and presses other countries to stop sending Havana oil

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE: President Donald Trump on Monday said Cuba was a “failed nation” and called on Havana to make a deal with the United States, though he dismissed mounting a regime change operation.
“Cuba is right now, a failed nation,” the US leader told reporters aboard Air Force One.
However, when asked if the United States would oust Cuba’s government, as Washington did when it raided Venezuela and captured president Nicolas Maduro, Trump said: “I don’t think that will be necessary.”
The island is facing major fuel shortages and blackouts as Trump intensifies the decades-long US embargo on the country and presses other countries to stop sending Havana oil.
“It’s a humanitarian threat,” Trump admitted of the fuel shortages biting the country.