{"id":1508,"date":"2025-08-04T15:42:58","date_gmt":"2025-08-04T15:42:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.logicalware.net\/?p=1508"},"modified":"2025-08-05T19:14:17","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T19:14:17","slug":"witkoff-set-to-visit-russia-for-last-chance-talks-on-ukraine-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.logicalware.net\/index.php\/2025\/08\/04\/witkoff-set-to-visit-russia-for-last-chance-talks-on-ukraine-war\/","title":{"rendered":"Witkoff set to visit Russia for 'last chance\u2019 talks on Ukraine war"},"content":{"rendered":"

President Trump\u2019s special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to visit Russia this week for what Ukraine is calling Moscow\u2019s \u201clast chance\u201d to reach a peace deal before U.S. sanctions are imposed<\/a> on countries that import oil from Russia.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Trump on Sunday said Witkoff \u201cmay be going to Russia\u201d on Wednesday or Thursday in a push to secure a ceasefire.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The president has grown increasingly frustrated with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has ignored his pleas for a peace deal, and he moved up a deadline last week for the Kremlin to reach a peace deal or face increased economic isolation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s latest deadline for Moscow would technically expire Friday, though he has proven flexible when it comes to imposing threatened tariffs on foreign countries.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A Kremlin spokesperson speaking to reporters Monday did not confirm or rule out a meeting between Putin and Witkoff this week.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council’s Center for Countering Disinformation, expressed optimism Monday that Trump would follow through.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Russians have burned down their railway infrastructure in the Volgograd region again,\u201d Kovalenko wrote on Telegram, referring to a fire that Russia blamed on a Ukrainian drone attack. <\/p>\n

\u201cTrump is also giving them one last chance to end the war with a visit from Witkoff. If the visit is not successful, there will be sanctions,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n

Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky and his top adviser, Andriy Yermak, also urged the U.S. and Europe to impose secondary sanctions in Telegram posts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSanctions are working. The economy, geared for war, cannot withstand the pressure and relies solely on the sale of energy resources,\u201d Yermak wrote Sunday.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is possible to strangle the economy with secondary tariffs proposed in the USA,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n

Trump has threatened to substantially increase tariffs<\/a> on India over its purchase of Russian oil, which has helped keep Russia\u2019s wartime economy afloat. China is also a major importer of Russian oil.<\/p>\n

Trump has threatened to impose up to a 100 percent \u201csecondary\u201d tariff on nations that do business with Russia, in a bid to cut off crucial export revenue. <\/p>\n

Such a move would likely shake the global oil markets and set back Trump\u2019s efforts to strike a broader trade deal with India and China. <\/p>\n

Some European countries also continue to import oil from Russia, though Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a key backer of sanctions, has suggested a carve-out for Ukraine\u2019s allies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Senate Republicans went home<\/a> for August recess without moving on a Russia sanctions bill that would have empowered the president to impose up to 500 percent secondary tariffs on Russia\u2019s trading partners.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Trump has suggested he does not need congressional authorization to move ahead with the sanctions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

President Trump\u2019s special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to visit Russia this week for what Ukraine is calling Moscow\u2019s \u201clast chance\u201d to reach a peace deal before U.S. sanctions are<\/p>\n

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