U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Moscow following his ongoing visit to Israel and the Gaza Strip, in what appears to be a final attempt by Washington to persuade Russia to accept a ceasefire agreement before President Donald Trump's 10-day deadline expires next week.
Witkoff arrived in Israel on Friday and is expected to visit the Gaza Strip after concluding meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. On Thursday, President Trump confirmed that Witkoff would travel to Moscow following his stop in Gaza, possibly as early as Saturday.
The upcoming trip will mark Witkoff’s first visit to Moscow since April, after having made five trips between February 11 and April 25. During those visits, he held a series of extended meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, those discussions failed to produce results, as U.S. proposals called for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine without addressing what Moscow has referred to as the “root causes” of the conflict. Russia’s demands, first made public in June of last year, have remained largely unchanged.
Earlier this month, President Trump issued a 50-day ultimatum for Russia to agree to a ceasefire or face sweeping secondary sanctions and tariffs on countries purchasing Russian energy. Last week, however, the administration abruptly shortened the deadline to just 10 days, setting August 8 as the cutoff date.
Although Trump stated he had no intention of speaking directly with Putin, Witkoff’s visit is widely seen as a final diplomatic push to reach an agreement before the deadline. The U.S. effort is complicated by ongoing tensions with key global players.
Trump has already imposed a 25% tariff on India, with additional penalties expected for its continued purchase of Russian energy. But further actions against China could prove politically difficult, as Washington and Beijing agreed earlier this week in Sweden to a 90-day pause on new trade tariffs.
Following the talks in Sweden, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent noted that despite the threat of punitive tariffs, China firmly rejected U.S. demands. According to Bessent, Chinese officials reiterated their position that energy purchases from Russia were a “sovereign” matter.