U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, plans to visit Moscow in the coming days to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Bloomberg reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.
He previously traveled to Moscow in February to facilitate the transfer of American citizen Marc Fogel, whom Russian authorities released in exchange for Russian cybercrime kingpin Alexander Vinnik. At the time, reports indicated that Witkoff also met with Putin during his visit.
Responding to reports of Witkoff’s planned trip, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that U.S.-Russia contacts remain “quite intensive” and that the “level and formats are often coordinated in real time.” She added, “We will keep you updated as events develop,” according to TASS.
Bloomberg noted that Witkoff’s visit would coincide with talks between Ukrainian and U.S. delegations in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, scheduled for March 11.
According to Axios, Witkoff intends to travel to Russia on Thursday, March 13, following a meeting with Qatar’s prime minister on March 12. However, sources told the outlet that his plans could shift depending on the outcome of talks in Qatar and Putin’s schedule.