Putin and his new friend Steve Witkoff

We're getting used to it now, but after so long with Vladimir Putin being Washington's bete noire, it still seems extraordinary to see him shaking hands with an American envoy and smiling at each other. Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump's go-anywhere special envoy and Mr Tough Negotiator, is with Putin today in St Petersburg. Putin knows that Trump is getting increasingly irritated by his failure to sign a full-time ceasefire in Ukraine. In fact Putin right now is doing exactly the opposite, bombing and pounding Ukraine as much as he can. At some point soon, Trump will get seriously angry with his old mucker. But for the moment he has sent Witkoff to batter Putin with ultimatums and warnings and delivering a message that his president is exasperated. Will Putin care? I absolutely don't think so. Putin has all the cards and he will play themk to the bitter end. Even if he loses Trump as a friend he still has China's Xi Zinping on his side and that will give him the confidence he needs - not that he really needs it - to carry on fighting. I doubt Witkoff will come away with any breakthrough because Putin is still talking about doing nothing until the "root causes" of the invasion of Ukraine have been resolved. ie Ukraine existing at all!