U.S. President Donald Trump on March 15 denied reports that his special envoy Steve Witkoff had waited for hours for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
Sky News reported on March 14, citing footage, that Witkoff had waited at least eight hours for Putin while the Russian leader was meeting Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko, in what appeared to be a classic power play.
Witkoff paid a visit to Moscow on March 13 for talks on the 30-day ceasefire proposal that Ukraine had accepted after a U.S.-Ukrainian meeting in Saudi Arabia on March 11.
"The fake news, as usual, is at it again!" Trump said in a post on Truth Social. "Why can't they be honest, just for once? Last night I read that President Vladimir Putin of Russia kept my highly respected Ambassador and Special Envoy, Steve Witkoff, waiting for over nine hours when, in fact, there was no wait whatsoever."
Trump attacked the media that reported the story, saying that their purpose is "to demean" and calling them "sick degenerates."
He claimed that "other meetings with other representatives of Russia did take place and, obviously, they took some time, but they were very productive."
"From there, things went quickly and efficiently, and all signs seem to be, hopefully, very good!' Trump added.
Putin said on March 13 that Russia was ready to agree to the U.S.-backed 30-day-long ceasefire in Ukraine but then followed by listing a number of demands — a ban on Ukrainian mobilization or training of troops and a halt on Western military aid for Kyiv.
Putin also hinted that Ukrainian troops in Russia's Kursk Oblast must surrender.
Talks on a potential ceasefire come as Trump pushes for a rushed peace deal to end the war at any cost, keeping European and Ukrainian officials on alert.
Oleg Sukhov
(Updated: )
