US envoy Witkoff says Ukraine talks with Russia ‘productive’
Al Jazeera
The talks come just a day before a second round of US-mediated talks between Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi.
United States special envoy Steve Witkoff has said he held “productive and constructive meetings” with Russian special envoy Kirill Dmitriev in Florida, as President Donald Trump’s administration presses to end Russia’s nearly four-year war in Ukraine.
“We are encouraged by this meeting that Russia is working toward securing peace in Ukraine,” wrote Witkoff in a post on X following Saturday’s talks.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, and White House adviser Josh Gruenbaum also attended the talks.
The meeting came a day before Ukrainian and Russian negotiators were scheduled to hold a second round of talks with US mediators in Abu Dhabi to discuss a US-backed plan to end Russia’s war.
A first US-mediated meeting was held in the United Arab Emirates’s capital last week, marking the first direct public negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv since the early weeks of the war.
If the death of Esmaeil Khatib is confirmed, it would be the third major high-profile assassination in successive days.
Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi says US-Israeli assassinations will not topple Tehran’s ‘strong political structure’.
Kent is the highest-level official to leave Trump administration over the US president’s decision to wage war on Iran.
The attacks are part of an escalating cycle of violence between US forces and Iraqi groups aligned with Tehran.
UN rights office says more than 36,000 Palestinians forcibly displaced in a year due to Israeli settler, army violence.
Rare US-Hamas talks come as the war on Iran strains the battered Gaza ‘ceasefire’ and post-war plans.
Israel’s Defence Minister Katz has claimed that Iran’s security chief has been assassinated
Pro-Israel groups pour millions into Democratic primaries in Chicago area as support for US ally hits a historic low.
Meanwhile, more than 20,000 patients await evacuation as the Rafah crossing is set to partially reopen on Wednesday.
Tehran threatens to reduce US-linked oil facilities to ‘pile of ashes’ if oil structures on the island are attacked.
State media outlet Press TV says one woman was killed from shrapnel as a result of a US-Israeli airstrike.
Qatari official denies political motives for decision to halt LNG production following Iranian strikes.
Israel targets centre of Lebanese capital in escalation of military campaign that has killed nearly 700 people.