The plane of US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, has crossed into Russian airspace, the state-run TASS news agency says, citing flights-tracking service Flightradar.
Witkoff had been in Doha, where the US, Egypt and Qatar are mediating indirect talks between Israel and Hamas over the war in Gaza and hostages still held by the terror group there.
But Witkoff, who is officially Trump’s Middle East envoy, has also played a growing role in efforts to bring about an end to the three-year-old Ukraine war.
The US and Ukraine are waiting on Russia to respond to a proposal for a 30-day ceasefire.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova says Russia is ready to talk to the US about the peace initiative, and contacts could take place on Thursday.
In a press conference, the Kremlin declines to comment on whether Russia had presented the US with a list of its demands to end the war in Ukraine.
Two people familiar with the matter told Reuters that Russian and American officials had discussed Moscow’s terms during in-person and virtual conversations over the last three weeks.
It is not clear what exactly Russia’s stipulations are, they said.
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From the Liveblog of
Thursday, March 13, 2025
