Trump Tells Russia to 'Get Moving' on Ukraine as Envoy Meets Putin

He Urges Moving Quicker to End 'Senseless' Conflict That 'Should Have Never Happened'

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MOSCOW - US envoy Steve Witkoff wrapped up his latest talks with Russia's President Vladimir Putin on April 11, after President Donald Trump urged his Russian counterpart to move quicker to end what he said was the country's "senseless war" with Ukraine.

Mr. Trump has been pressing Moscow and Kyiv to agree on a ceasefire deal but has failed to extract any major concessions from the Kremlin, despite repeated negotiations between Russian and US officials.

The US leader told NBC News in March he was "pissed off" with his Russian counterpart, while top US diplomat Marco Rubio warned last week that Washington would not tolerate "endless negotiations" with Russia over the conflict.

"Russia has to get moving," Mr. Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, adding that the conflict, which began more than three years ago when Moscow sent troops into Ukraine, was "senseless" and "should have never happened."

Kyiv and several of its Western allies suspect Russia of stalling the talks on purpose.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of dragging Beijing into the conflict; hundreds of Chinese nationals were fighting on the Ukraine front line alongside Russia.

Mr. Trump's post came just before Mr. Witkoff's meeting with Mr. Putin at the presidential library in St. Petersburg, which state news agencies said lasted 4 1/2 hours.

The Kremlin afterwards said only that the meeting had taken place and "focused on various aspects of the Ukrainian settlement," without elaborating.