(MENAFN) US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there could be positive developments—or perhaps not—following special envoy Steve Witkoff’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Wednesday.

“Maybe positive, maybe not,” Rubio told reporters when asked about potential announcements, speaking alongside Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric. He added that Witkoff had just returned from the talks, held ahead of a US ceasefire deadline, and that he had spoken to the envoy by phone. “We will have more to say later today,” Rubio said.

The Kremlin called the three-hour talks “useful and constructive,” according to Russian state media. The discussions reportedly focused on the war in Ukraine and possible areas of strategic cooperation between Moscow and Washington.

This was Witkoff’s fifth trip to Russia this year, occurring just two days before US President Donald Trump’s shortened 10-day deadline for Russia to reach a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine. Trump had initially given Moscow a 50-day window, warning of 100% import tariffs on Russia and its trading partners if no peace deal was reached. On July 29, citing “disappointment” with Putin, he cut the deadline to 10 days.

MENAFN10082025000045015687ID1109908413