US special envoy Steve Witkoff has arrived in Moscow, where he was met by Russian investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev, an unnamed source told Reuters. The move comes as the Kremlin has hinted that Witkoff could also meet with President Vladimir Putin in the Russian capital.
US President Donald Trump, who has previously threatened new sanctions on Russia if it does not agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine by Friday, said that Witkoff could travel to Moscow this week to try to find a diplomatic way out of the current situation. According to reports from Washington, Witkoff is due to meet with senior Russian officials on Wednesday. Although it has not been officially confirmed whether he will meet with Putin, the Kremlin has left the possibility open.
Trump has threatened to impose additional economic measures, including high tariffs on countries that continue to buy Russian oil, including India and China, the largest importers. This is intended to increase pressure on Moscow to agree to a ceasefire. However, the Kremlin is taking a different approach. According to sources close to the government, the Russian president does not believe that additional sanctions will have a significant impact on Russia, as it has already endured a series of economic shocks over the past three and a half years of war.
Analysts point out that while Putin does not want to further worsen relations with Trump and is aware that he may be missing a rare opportunity to de-escalate relations with the West, his goals in Ukraine are still more important to him. Austrian expert on Russia, Gerhard Mangot, assessed that Witkoff’s visit represents a last-ditch attempt to find a solution that would allow both sides to save face, but added that he does not expect concrete results because the positions do not match.
According to Mangot, Russia will continue to emphasize its readiness for a ceasefire, but only under the conditions that it has been repeating for years. On the other hand, Trump will be under great pressure to fulfill what he announced – the introduction of tariffs not only on Russian oil and gas, but probably also on uranium, which many countries still import from Russia.
In short, the diplomatic maneuvers are coming to an end, but the real chances of an agreement are still small, given that neither side shows a willingness to make a major concession.
