ISTANBUL

The Kremlin on Monday said that Moscow does not rule out a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US special envoy Steve Witkoff this week, as the latter is set to conduct a visit to the country.

“We do not rule out the possibility of holding such a meeting,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters during a press briefing, defining contacts with Witkoff as “important, meaningful and very useful.”

Peskov’s remarks came as US President Donald Trump said Sunday that Witkoff may travel to Russia “Wednesday or Thursday.”

The visit would be taking place days before a 10-day deadline set by Trump for Russia to reach a ceasefire deal with Ukraine, which will expire on Aug. 8.

In June, Trump had given Russia a 50-day window, after which he threatened to impose import duties of up to 100% on Russia and its trading partners unless Moscow and Kyiv reach an agreement.

On July 29, Trump announced that he had decided to reduce that deadline to 10 days over his "disappointment" with Putin.

Peskov said that the US continues its mediation efforts in the context of the Russia-Ukraine war, expressing that these efforts are very important, given the direct negotiations taking place between Moscow and Kyiv.

The spokesman further reaffirmed Moscow's desire to resolve the ongoing conflict, now in its fourth year, through "political and diplomatic means."

He also said that Russia does not rule out the possibility of a meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but noted this would take place “after the necessary work has been done at the expert level and the necessary distance has been covered.”

Nuclear war

Peskov also commented on Trump's statement from last week on ordering two US nuclear submarines to be positioned in "appropriate regions," saying Russia is "very careful" about any statements related to nuclear issues and that Moscow is taking a "responsible position" in this regard.

"Russia is very attentive to the topic of nuclear non-proliferation. And, of course, we believe that everyone should be very, very careful with nuclear rhetoric," Peskov said.

Indicating that American nuclear submarines are on combat duty regardless of statements by politicians, Peskov expressed that Russia does not believe there are any escalations at the moment, but that "very complex, very sensitive" issues are being discussed, which, he argued, are perceived by many in a "very emotional way."

He further said there are many different opinions in each country's leadership on current events, but that Putin's position ultimately formulates Moscow's foreign policy, responding to a question on recent remarks by Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy head of Russia's Security Council.

"There can be no winner in a nuclear war. This is probably the main postulate from which we proceed," he went on to say, arguing there are "very tough-minded" people both in the US and in European countries.

On June 28, Medvedev wrote on X that each new ultimatum directed towards Moscow is "a threat and a step towards war" between Russia and the US, reacting to Trump's 10-day deadline for a ceasefire.

In response, Trump warned the former Russian president last Thursday to "watch his words" in a statement on Truth Social, after which Medvedev reacted once again, saying: "If some words of a former Russian president cause such a nervous reaction from the formidable US president, then Russia is right in everything and will continue to go its own way."

A day later, Trump said that he ordered two nuclear submarines to be positioned in "appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that.”

“Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences. I hope this will not be one of those instances,” Trump added.