As a deadline for U.S. secondary sanctions on Russia’s trading partners approaches, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff held talks with Russian President Vladimir.
Aug. 6 U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow on Wednesday for eleventh-hour talks with the Russian officials ahead of an American deadline for Russia to agree a cease-fire with Ukraine set to expire on Friday.
Witkoff was met at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport by Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev, who leads the regime’s negotiating team, before traveling directly to the Kremlin to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Witkoff, who is on his fifth mission to Russia this year as the face of the Trump administration’s drive to end the war, also held face-to-face talks with Putin on the two most recent visits on April 11 and April 25.
The visit comes after U.S. President Donald Trump brought forward to Friday a 50-day deadline for Moscow to make a peace deal with Ukraine or face tough new economic sanctions in the form of 100% tariffs on trading partners who purchase Russian oil.
On Tuesday, Trump refused to prejudge the outcome of the negotiations, saying he would hold off on deciding whether to move ahead with the sanctions until the end of the talks.
