(CNN) — President Donald Trump’s trusted foreign envoy Steve Witkoff is meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, after the Kremlin requested that Witkoff visit in a last-ditch effort to avoid the punishing new sanctions Trump has threatened to impose this week, people familiar with the matter said.

Witkoff landed in Moscow on Wednesday morning and was greeted at the airport by Russia’s investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev, Reuters reported. Video later posted by the Kremlin showed him shaking hands with Putin ahead of their meeting.

Whether Putin can convince Witkoff — and, by extension, Trump — that he is interested in ending Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine is an open question. Trump has cast doubt on Putin’s willingness to stop the fighting and appears wary of b

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