“Great progress was made”: Trump after Witkoff–Putin talks

This was reported by the Russian news agency TASS, citing the Kremlin press service.

According to their statement, the meeting between Putin and Witkoff lasted about three hours.

Trump’s statement

U.S. President Donald Trump called the meeting between the Russian leader and his special representative “very productive.”

“Great progress was made! Afterwards, I updated some of our European allies. Everyone agrees that this war must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come,” he wrote on his TruthSocial platform.

What is Russia saying?

Interfax, citing Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov, reported that the Russian leader discussed with Trump’s envoy the "Ukrainian crisis" and prospects for cooperation between Moscow and Washington.

“If we name the topics, first and foremost, of course, it’s the Ukrainian crisis. The second issue was the prospects for potential strategic cooperation between the U.S. and Russia. From our side, including on the Ukrainian issue, certain signals were conveyed. Corresponding signals were also received from President Trump,” he said.

Ushakov called the Putin-Witkoff dialogue “extremely useful and constructive.”

“Right now, our president has full information—both our signals and those from President Trump. Trump, however, has not yet been briefed on the outcome of this meeting. So I would refrain from more detailed comments at this stage. Let’s wait until Witkoff is able to report today’s conversation to Trump. After that, we may be able to add something more substantial,” he added.

Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump’s special envoy, met with Russian leader Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin around 12:00 p.m. on August 6, according to the Kremlin-controlled TASS news agency. 

Earlier that day, both TASS and Reuters confirmed Witkoff’s arrival in Moscow. Reuters, citing its own sources, noted that he was greeted by senior Russian official Kirill Dmitriev upon landing.

• On July 29, the U.S. president announced that he had reduced the deadline for Putin to conclude a ceasefire in Ukraine to 10 days.
• U.S. President Donald Trump stated on July 31 that his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, will make another visit to Russia. Trump called Russia’s July 31 attack on Ukraine “disgusting.”
• U.S. President Donald Trump announced that his special envoy Steve Witkoff may travel to Russia on Wednesday or Thursday.