CNN: U.S. Special Envoy Whitkoff to meet with Putin on Friday

U.S. presidential special envoy Steve Whitkoff is expected to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia on Friday as the Donald Trump administration continues efforts to end the war in Ukraine, CNN reported, citing a U.S. official.

Whitkoff's meetings will take place immediately after a meeting with the Ukrainians in London hosted by Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio opting not to attend.

The Trump administration did not feel they had reached a decisive point in the ongoing talks with Ukraine, leading Rubio to cancel his participation today, according to another U.S. official and two European diplomats familiar with the matter.

Given expectations that the U.S., Ukrainians and Russians were not close to agreeing on a framework to end the conflict, Rubio did not find it productive to use his time to participate in the talks, the sources said.

“It was better to let the talks drag on than to create the illusion that a breakthrough was imminent,” one source said.

Reprinted from https://news.am/