The plane carrying US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff has reportedly crossed into Russian airspace on Thursday, reports said, citing flights-tracking service FlightRadar.
Before leaving for Russia, 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 rebel 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.
Both the United States and Ukraine are waiting for Russia to respond to a proposal for a 30-day ceasefire.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova earlier said Russia was ready to talk to the US about the peace initiative and contacts could take place today.
In a press conference, the Kremlin declined to comment on whether Russia had presented the US with a list of its demands to end the war in Ukraine.
Earlier, delegates from the US and Ukraine met in the Saudi capital to discuss the possible ceasefire between Moscow and Kiev.
During the meeting, Ukrainian officials proposed a 30-day pause in the conflict as a part of the phase of a ceasefire in the year-old conflict.
Experts say Witkoff, being a really good negotiator, would probably convince Russia to pause all hostilities for 30, to which Russia has repeatedly refused to agree.
It will be interesting to see how the much-expected talks between Washington and Moscow will pan out, as both sides have recently taken several confidence measures to boost bilateral ties, especially in the context of the war in Ukraine.
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