Trump envoy plans talks with Putin in Russia after U.S.-Ukraine summit
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Moscow last week. Photo: Mikhail Metzel/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff is planning to travel to Moscow later this week for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a source with direct knowledge confirmed.
Why it matters: The meeting with Putin is planned to take place several days after a key meeting between U.S. and Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday that will focus on a possible ceasefire in the war with Russia.
- Witkoff was supposed to participate in the meeting with Ukrainian officials, but at the moment it looks like he is going to be the main channel of communication with Russia as part of the division of labor inside of President Trump's foreign policy and national security team.
Flashback: This will be Witkoff's second meeting with Putin.
- Trump's envoy traveled to Moscow in mid-February as part of a deal to release U.S. citizen Marc Fogel, who was then detained in Russian prison. Witkoff met Putin for three hours on that trip.
Driving the news: Witkoff left Miami on Monday en route Abu Dhabi. He is expected to meet with UAE president Mohammed Bin Zayed on Tuesday, according to three sources with knowledge.
- On Tuesday evening, Witkoff will travel to Doha to join Qatari and Egyptian mediators in negotiations over the Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, two sources said. On Wednesday, Witkoff will meet with the prime minister of Qatar.
- On Thursday, Witkoff plans to travel to Moscow but, according to a source familiar with the knowledge, the plan could change based on the situation with negotiations in Qatar and Putin's schedule.
- Bloomberg first reported Witkoff's planned trip to Moscow.
State of play: Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House National Security Adviser Mike Waltz arrived in Jedda, Saudi Arabia's largest city, on Monday ahead of their meeting with senior Ukrainian officials.
- Rubio and Waltz met on Monday with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) and discussed efforts to reach a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, the State Department said.
- MBS met later on Monday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who visited the kingdom.
- "The Ukrainian delegation remains in Jeddah to work with the U.S. team on Tuesday and we hope for practical outcomes. Ukraine's position in these talks will be fully constructive," Zelensky said after the meeting.
