US envoy Witkoff arrives in Russia to meet with Putin in search of Ukraine ceasefire deal

U.S. special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff has arrived in Russia and is set to meet with Russia President Vladimir Putin on Friday. 

The meeting between Witkoff and Putin will be the third one this year as President Trump continues to press for a permanent or least temporary end to the roughly three-year-long Russia-Ukraine war. 

Witkoff landed in Saint Petersburg on Friday morning and met first wet with Putin's envoy Kirill Dmitriev, the news outlet Axios reports.

The Kremlin confirmed that Witkoff would meet with Putin to discuss ceasefire attempts and a possible meeting with Trump.

Trump said if a ceasefire isn't reached by the end of the month, he will impose more sanctions, a source told Axios. 

"We will know soon enough, in a matter of weeks, not months, whether Russia is serious about peace or not," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said during a NATO summit in Brussels last week.