Peskov: Witkoff did not plan to visit Russia for the May holidays

The visit of the special envoy of the President of the United States, Steve Witkoff, to Russia during the May holidays was not planned. This was announced on May 19 by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

"No, he wasn't supposed to arrive during the May holidays. This is incorrect information," he told reporters.

The Kremlin's official representative added that Witkoff's visits for contacts with Russian President Vladimir Putin are coordinated immediately. Peskov added that their next meeting would take place as needed.

He also stressed that Moscow appreciates Washington's mediation efforts on the Ukrainian conflict and is grateful to the American side. According to him, Russia prefers to achieve the goals of the special operation through diplomacy.

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At the same time, Moscow and Washington are discussing a meeting between the two presidents on how the dialogue on conflict resolution will develop.

On May 17, US President Donald Trump expressed his intention to hold a telephone conversation with Putin. He clarified that the talks will take place on May 19 at 10:00 a.m. US time (17:00 Moscow time). According to him, the main topics will be the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict and trade. The US president noted that after that he plans to call Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, as well as representatives of various NATO countries.

After the announcement of the telephone conversation between the American and Russian leaders, Peskov told Izvestia that the conversation between Putin and Trump was in the process of preparation.