United States President Donald Trump’s Special Envoy, Steve Witkoff has met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saint Petersburg to discuss the war in Ukraine.
Kremlin Spokesman, Dmitry Peskov said that Putin and Witkoff will discuss Ukraine, calling it “a good opportunity” to convey the Russian position to Trump.
Peskov was reported as saying that a possible Putin-Trump meeting may also be on the agenda.
Putin and Trump have spoken by phone but have yet to meet in person since the US leader returned to the White House in January for a second four-year term.
“The painstaking work continues. Naturally, Witkoff, as a special representative of President Trump, will bring something from his President to Putin.
“Putin will listen to it. The conversation on various aspects of the Ukrainian settlement will continue.”
Dmitry Peskov
The talks come at a time when US-Russia dialogue aimed at agreeing a ceasefire ahead of a possible peace deal to end the war in Ukraine appears to have stalled over disagreements around conditions for a full pause in hostilities.
Trump, who has shown signs of losing patience, has spoken of imposing secondary sanctions on countries that buy Russian oil if he feels Moscow is dragging its feet on a Ukrainian deal.
On Friday, April 11, 2025, he said in a post on Truth Social, “Russia has to get moving.”
“Too many people (are) DYING, thousands a week, in a terrible and senseless war – A war that should have never happened, and wouldn’t have happened, if I were President!!!”
Donald Trump
Prior to meeting Putin, Witkoff also met Friday with Russian Negotiator Kirill Dmitriev. On Saturday, he is slated to attend high-level Iran talks in Oman.
Witkoff has quickly become a key figure in discussions between Washington and Moscow, as tensions during former US President Joe Biden’s administration have eased.
After his last meeting with Putin, Witkoff said that the Russian President was a “great leader” and “not a bad guy.”
A February meeting between Witkoff and Putin culminated with the US Envoy flying home with Marc Fogel, an American teacher whom Washington had said was wrongfully detained by Russia.
More recently, US and Russian officials held talks on Thursday in Turkiye.
Witkoff-Putin Talks Downplayed
However, Peskov played down the Witkoff-Putin talks, telling Russian state media before they started that the US envoy’s visit would not be “momentous” and no breakthroughs were expected.
He said the meeting would be a chance for Russia to express its “concerns.”
Moscow and Kyiv have repeatedly accused each other of violating a moratorium on striking each other’s energy infrastructure.
The meeting, the third this year between Putin and Witkoff, comes at a time when U.S. tensions with Iran and China, both close allies of Moscow, have been heightened by Tehran’s nuclear programme and a burgeoning trade war with Beijing.
Witkoff, who visited a synagogue in St Petersburg earlier on Friday, is due in Oman on Saturday for talks with Iran over its nuclear programme.
Trump has threatened Tehran with military action if it does not agree to a deal. Moscow has repeatedly offered its help in trying to clinch a diplomatic settlement.
Yulia Shapovalova, a Correspondent noted that the Kremlin is “not expecting any breakthrough” as a result of the meeting between Putin and Witkoff.
“The message from the US President to Russia, brought by Steve Witkoff, is quite clear: It’s a ceasefire in Ukraine.
“But Analysts believe that Putin is not quite interested in showing Russia’s readiness for a ceasefire as Russia slowly but steadily is moving forward on the Ukrainian fronts.”
Yulia Shapovalova
She added that Russia’s demands also remain unchanged.
It is opposed to the expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), wants a reduced US presence in Europe, and has called for security guarantees and noninterference in its internal affairs.
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