Trump has set a deadline of August 8 for Russia to take concrete steps to end the conflict in Ukraine. He said that failure to do so may result in a new round of US sanctions.

Earlier, Trump warned of the possibility of additional punitive measures, including “secondary tariffs” targeting Russian trading partners like China and India, a move that could have global economic implications.

Witkoff met President Putin several times this year, before US-Russia relations reached a stalemate.

In his most recent statement last Friday, Putin said Russia’s top priority is eliminating the root causes of the Ukraine conflict while ensuring national security. He said Russia is willing to wait if Ukraine is not yet ready for negotiations.