President Donald Trump's special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin's investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev in Washington, D.C., in what is set to be the first high-level Russian official visit to the U.S. since the outbreak of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine in 2022, reports Bloomberg.
The report comes days after President Donald Trump said he was "pissed off" with Putin and spoke of the possibility of imposing sanctions on those who buy Russian crude.
"If Russia and I are unable to make a deal on stopping the bloodshed in Ukraine, and if I think it was Russia's fault — which it might not be — but if I think it was Russia's fault, I am going to put secondary tariffs on oil, on all oil coming out of Russia," Trump said.
"That would be that if you buy oil from Russia, you can't do business in the United States. There will be a 25% tariff on all oil, a 25- to 50-point tariff on all oil," he added.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, when asked by reporters if Dmitriev would be visiting Washington for talks with Trump administration officials, including Witkoff, said that such a visit was possible.
"Yes, I confirm that such a visit may be possible," Peskov said, according to Reuters. "We continue to communicate with the Americans through various channels. I can't tell you anything more specific."