US envoy Steve Witkoff is in Moscow for last‑minute talks on the Ukraine war as President Trump’s sanctions deadline looms.
US envoy Steve Witkoff is in Moscow for last‑minute talks on the Ukraine war as President Trump’s sanctions deadline looms.
US envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow on Wednesday on a last‑minute mission to secure a breakthrough in the Ukraine war, just two days before a deadline set by President Donald Trump for Russia to agree to peace or face new sanctions.
Witkoff, a real estate billionaire with no prior diplomatic experience, was greeted by Kirill Dmitriev, Russia’s investment envoy and head of its sovereign wealth fund. Russian state media showed the two men walking together through a park near the Kremlin, deep in conversation.
A source familiar with Witkoff’s schedule told Reuters in Washington on Tuesday that the envoy would meet Russian leaders during the visit. The Kremlin has not confirmed whether President Vladimir Putin will receive him.
Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with Putin over stalled peace efforts. He has threatened to impose heavy tariffs on countries buying Russian exports, exerting particular pressure on India, which along with China remains a major purchaser of Russian oil.
The Kremlin says threats to penalise countries trading with Russia are illegal. Three sources close to the Kremlin told Reuters that Putin is unlikely to bow to Trump’s ultimatum, believing that Russia is winning the war and that his military goals outweigh the prospect of improved relations with Washington.
“The visit of Witkoff is a last‑ditch effort to find a face‑saving solution for both sides. I don’t think, however, that there will be anything of a compromise between the two,” said Gerhard Mangott, an Austrian analyst and member of a group of Western academics and journalists who have met regularly with Putin over the years.
“Russia will insist it is prepared to have a ceasefire, but (only) under the conditions that it has formulated for the last two or three years already,” Mangott told Reuters in a telephone interview.
“Trump will be under pressure to do what he has announced – to raise tariffs for all the countries buying oil and gas, and uranium probably as well, from Russia,” he added.
According to the Russian sources, Putin doubts additional U.S. sanctions will have much impact after successive waves of economic penalties during three‑and‑a‑half years of war. While the Kremlin leader does not want to antagonise Trump, they said, his military priorities remain paramount.
Witkoff has held several lengthy meetings with Putin in the past. Since joining Trump’s team in January, he has been tasked with pursuing ceasefires in both the Ukraine and Gaza conflicts, as well as engaging on Iran’s nuclear programme.
Critics have questioned his suitability for such high‑stakes diplomacy. On his last trip to Moscow in April, Witkoff – unaccompanied by diplomats or aides – appeared isolated across the table from Putin, Dmitriev and Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov.
Some have accused him of repeating Kremlin talking points. In a March interview with journalist Tucker Carlson, Witkoff said there was no reason to believe Russia wanted to absorb Ukraine or seize additional territory, calling it “preposterous” to think Putin would send his army marching across Europe.
Ukraine and many of its European allies dispute that view, arguing that Russia’s invasion proves the opposite. Putin denies any plans against NATO countries, dismissing Western warnings as “Russophobia.”
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