Trump's envoy to visit Moscow for talks on 30-day Ukraine ceasefire proposal

U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, will travel to Moscow "later this week" for talks with Russian officials on a proposed 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, the White House confirmed on March 13.

White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt stated that National Security Advisor Mike Waltz spoke with his Russian counterpart earlier in the day, stressing that President Trump's "team continues to be engaged" with Moscow ahead of Witkoff’s visit, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

Leavitt did not disclose the specific date of Witkoff’s arrival or whom he would meet but urged Russia to support the ceasefire plan.

"We urge the Russians to sign on to this plan. This is the closest we have been to peace in this war. We are at the 10-yard line, and the president expects the Russians to help us run this into the end zone," Leavitt told reporters, using an American football analogy to highlight the deal’s near completion.

Witkoff has played an increasingly significant role in the Trump administration beyond his formal title, previously working on negotiations that secured the release of American citizen Marc Fogel, who had been detained in Russia for over three years.

Ukraine has accepted the U.S.-backed truce, which Trump has described as a "total ceasefire." The agreement was reached on March 12 following negotiations in Saudi Arabia between a U.S. delegation led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Waltz and their Ukrainian counterparts.

A joint statement released after the talks omitted any mention of "security guarantees"—a U.S. commitment to respond if Russia violated the ceasefire. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later stated that the issue had been discussed and would be further addressed if the ceasefire were implemented.

Earlier on March 13, Trump warned of "devastating" economic consequences for Russia if President Vladimir Putin rejected the deal, asserting that the agreement’s fate now rested with the Kremlin.

"There are things you can do that wouldn’t be pleasant in a financial sense. I can do things financially that would be very bad for Russia. I don't want to do that, because I want to get peace," Trump said. "We're getting close to maybe getting something done."

By Vugar Khalilov