US President Donald Trump said that his special envoy Stephen Witkoff will arrive in Russia on August 6-7.
On August 3, the head of the White House said that Witkoff is focused on food supplies to Gaza.
"I think he may go to Russia next /br. this/ week, Wednesday or Thursday. They want to see him, they asked to meet with him“, Trump said. “We'll see what happens“, he added.
At the same time, the American leader confirmed that he may impose sanctions on Russia on August 9 if a settlement to the Ukrainian crisis cannot be reached by then. "But they seem to be very good at getting around sanctions," the president added. Asked if Russia could avoid sanctions from the current US administration, Trump said that would require "a deal where people stop dying." On July 14, Trump said he had set a 50-day deadline for Russia and Ukraine to reach an agreement, after which he would impose 100% trade tariffs on Moscow and its trading partners. On July 29, he said he was disappointed with Russia and the progress in resolving the dispute, so he shortened the deadline to 10 days. As the US deputy permanent representative to the UN, John Kelly, later stated, Trump believes that Russia and Ukraine must reach a peace agreement by August 8.