US Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff will visit the Russian Federation this week.
Points of attention
- US President Trump is sending Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to Russia amid escalating tensions over the situation in the Middle East.
- Trump has set a deadline of August 8 for peace between Russia and Ukraine, with potential sanctions looming if Russia does not comply.
- The Kremlin has expressed its intention to continue the aggressive war despite US demands for peace, raising concerns about the outcome of the talks.
Witkoff is going to Russia: what's the deal?
US President Donald Trump stated this while talking to reporters.
Journalists asked Trump what would happen on August 8 if Russia did not agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine.
Well, there will be sanctions, but they seem to be pretty good at avoiding them. You know, they're cunning characters and pretty good at avoiding sanctions. So let's see what happens.
Donald Trump
President of the United States
He also noted that Witkoff is currently focused on the problems of Gaza, but he may go to Russia.
He might go, I think, next week, Wednesday or Thursday (August 6 and 7 — ed.) to Russia. They would like to see him. They asked him to meet with them. So we'll see what happens.
As a reminder, Trump recently reduced the deadline for Russia to achieve peace with Ukraine to 10 days. The new deadline expires on August 8. Despite the statements of the US president, the Kremlin has announced its intention to continue the aggressive war.
In addition, Trump announced that Steve Witkoff would visit Moscow for talks with the illegitimate Russian President Vladimir Putin and did not rule out imposing sanctions against the aggressor state.
