Last Thursday, a U.S. delegation led by White House special envoy Steve Witkoff met in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss a proposed 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine. This proposal had been brokered earlier in the week between Washington and Kyiv during talks in Saudi Arabia. However, details that have since emerged suggest that Putin employed a classic power move against Trump’s envoy—keeping him waiting for hours.
According to British broadcaster Sky News, Witkoff spent just over twelve hours in Moscow, as confirmed by footage of the U.S. delegation arriving at and departing from Vnukovo Airport. Yet, for the majority of that time—nearly eight hours—Putin reportedly left Trump’s envoy waiting.
Witkoff’s visit had been scheduled since the beginning of the week, following negotiations between the U.S. and Ukraine in Saudi Arabia. He arrived in Moscow on Thursday, expecting to meet Putin that same day. However, the Russian president was occupied with an official state visit from Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, a meeting that had been announced just the day before.
Far from being a mere scheduling conflict, Sky News’ Moscow correspondent, Ivor Bennett, suggests this was a deliberate show of dominance. “The Kremlin leader doesn’t like being pressured or told what to do—especially on his own turf,” Bennett remarked.
After hours of waiting, Putin finally granted Witkoff a face-to-face meeting, well into the night. Earlier that day, during a joint press conference with Lukashenko, Putin had voiced his support for the idea of a 30-day truce in Ukraine—though he attached numerous conditions and nuances, which he indicated he would discuss with Trump soon.
For his part, the U.S. president firmly denied that Putin had kept his envoy waiting. “Last night, I read that Russian President Vladimir Putin made my highly respected ambassador and special envoy, Steve Witkoff, wait over nine hours—when in reality, there was no wait at all. There were meetings with other Russian officials, which obviously took time, but they were very productive,” Trump stated Saturday on Truth Social.
According to Trump, the visit was “quick and efficient,” and all indications suggest that it went “hopefully, very well!” Footage of the U.S. delegation’s whirlwind 12-hour trip to Moscow appears to back up that claim.
