Steve Witkoff, U.S. President Donald Trump's Special Envoy for the Middle East, will pay another visit to Russia after his current trip to Israel, Trump told reporters at the White House on July 31.
The announcement comes the day after a deadly Russian attack on Kyiv and just over a week before Trump's new Aug. 8 deadline for Russia to make a peace deal to end the war against Ukraine.
Witkoff will travel to Russia after visiting Israel, Trump told reporters. He did not specify the dates or agenda of his visit.
Trump said he found Russia's latest attacks against Ukraine "disgusting," though he was vague about the penalties Washington would impose if Moscow failed to reach a peace settlement.
"Russia, I think it's disgusting what they're doing ... I think what Russia's doing is very sad," Trump said at the briefing.
The Kremlin has "about eight days" to make a deal or face sanctions, Trump said.
"Yeah, we're gonna put sanctions — I don't know that sanctions bother (Russian President Vladimir Putin) ... I don't know if that has any effect, but we're gonna do it," he said.
Senior U.S. diplomat John Kelley told the United Nations Security Council on July 31 that the White House wants a deal to end Russia's war in Ukraine by Aug. 8. Days earlier, Trump warned that tariffs on Moscow would take effect within 10 days unless the Kremlin agreed to a ceasefire.
Witkoff has held in-person meetings with Putin on several previous occasions. A real estate developer with no prior diplomatic experience, Witkoff has emerged as the Trump administration's key representative in Moscow, though his reliance on Kremlin translators and comments about Russian-occupied territories have sparked concern and controversy.
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