Kremlin talks resurface: Trump sends Witkoff to reopen Ukraine dialogue

US President Donald Trump has announced that his special representative, Steve Witkoff, will travel to Russia following a visit to the Middle East.

Trump made the announcement during a conversation with reporters, in which he also reiterated his administration's intent to impose new sanctions on Russia. However, he expressed scepticism about whether such measures would have an impact on Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“He’s going to Russia, believe it or not,” Trump remarked, referring to Witkoff’s travel plans. No further details about the timing or agenda of the upcoming visit have been released.

Witkoff’s most recent trip to Moscow took place in April, when he held talks with President Putin at the Kremlin. At the time, both sides discussed the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. That meeting was followed by three rounds of talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations held in Istanbul.

Before the April visit, Whitcoff had travelled to Russia on February 11 and March 13, marking a sustained effort by the Trump administration to facilitate a diplomatic resolution to the ongoing conflict.

US media reported that Witkoff’s last trip to Moscow did not produce any “immediate breakthrough” in the negotiations, and since then, Trump's frustration with Putin has reportedly increased. The Kremlin, for its part, acknowledged Trump’s recent statements and reiterated Moscow’s commitment to a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

In a late July interview with Fox News, Witkoff expressed optimism that the war between Russia and Ukraine would be resolved, calling it a potentially “important moment.”

Earlier, on July 29, President Trump gave Moscow a ten-day deadline to begin resolving the Ukraine conflict. The following day, he announced 25% tariffs on Indian imports, criticising India’s continued purchases of Russian energy resources.

In a separate development on July 14, during talks with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House, Trump warned that the US would impose secondary tariffs of 100% on trade with Russia’s partners if a peace agreement in Ukraine was not reached within 50 days, by September 2. He has since shortened that timeline.

By Tamilla Hasanova