Bloomberg Cites Multiple Sources in Report
Steve Witkoff, the U.S. Special Envoy for the Middle East, is planning to visit Russia soon to meet with President Vladimir Putin, Bloomberg News reported on the 10th (local time).
Bloomberg cited multiple sources saying that Witkoff's visit to Russia is scheduled to take place this week.
If Witkoff visits Russia, the timing is expected to be shortly after high-level talks between the U.S. and Ukraine regarding the end of the Ukraine war. U.S. representatives including Special Envoy Witkoff, Secretary of State Mark Rubio, and National Security Advisor Michael Waltz are scheduled to meet with Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia on the 11th. Previously, Witkoff visited Russia last month to bring back American Mark Fogel, who had been detained there.
If this meeting takes place, it will be the first face-to-face meeting between President Putin and a senior U.S. official since he met former U.S. President Joe Biden in Switzerland in 2021.
U.S. President Donald Trump hinted on the 12th of last month, after his first phone call with President Putin, that he might soon meet Putin in Saudi Arabia, but no official decision has been made yet.
Earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Mark Rubio suggested that Ukraine might be forced to cede territory to Moscow as part of an agreement to end the war.
On his way to talks with Ukraine in Saudi Arabia, Secretary Rubio told reporters, "I think both sides need to agree that there is no military solution to this situation."
Secretary Rubio also said that if the Saudi Arabia meeting goes smoothly, the U.S. ban on sending weapons and intelligence to Ukraine could be lifted on the 12th.
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