Donald Trump’s Envoy, Steve Witkoff has held his fourth meeting with Russian President, Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Friday at what Trump has said is a key moment in diplomacy to end the war in Ukraine.
Witkoff has emerged as Washington’s key interlocutor with Putin as Trump pushes for a deal to end the war and has already held three long meetings with the Kremlin leader.
Video published by the Kremlin showed Witkoff and Putin shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries before sitting down on opposite sides of a white oval table.
Putin was accompanied by his foreign Policy Adviser Yuri Ushakov and investment envoy, Kirill Dmitriev.
According to Putin’s Advisor, Yuri Ushakov, the meeting between Putin and Witkoff lasted 3 hours and was constructive.
He disclosed that Putin and Trump’s envoy, discussed, among other things, the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.
Ushakov added that the three-hour conversation between Putin and Witkoff “led to a convergence of positions between Russia and the United States not only regarding Ukraine but also on other issues.”
Ukashov stated that productive dialogue between Russia and the US will continue on various levels.
The meeting was Witkoff’s fourth with Putin.
Each meeting has taken place in Russia, behind closed doors and without media present.
On February 11, 2025, Witkoff flew unannounced to Moscow to meet Putin over the release of imprisoned American teacher Marc Fogel. Ukraine was not reported to be a topic of discussion, and Witkoff returned with Fogel to the US the following day
On March 13, 2025, following US and Ukrainian talks in Jeddah to adopt a 30-day ceasefire, Witkoff travelled to Moscow to present the proposal to Putin. “The meeting was extremely productive,” Head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, Kirill Dmitriev, had said.
On April 11, 2025, Witkoff and Putin spoke for close to five hours in the western Russian city of St Petersburg. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov was also in the room, according to the Kremlin.
Trump says there has been significant progress in peace talks, and that the coming days will be important. “I think we’re getting very close,” he noted yesterday.
There were reports of documents outlining two separate peace proposals to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
The first is from the US and was presented to European and Ukrainian officials by White House envoy Steve Witkoff in Paris on April 17, 2025.
The second is drafted by Europe and Ukraine and was presented to US officials during talks in London this week.
Ukraine Adviser Says Russia Dragging Its Feet In Peace Talks
Yuriy Sak, Adviser to Ukraine’s Ministry of Strategic Industries, told a news agency that Russia appears to be “dragging its feet” and treating the process of peace talks as a “spectacle.”
He stated that Ukraine speaks with its European partners daily, and he is reassured that they’ll stand with the country until peace is achieved.
However, he said that there are certain things only the US can provide, so it’s “very important to preserve the strategic partnership.”
He added that Russia needs to “show genuine proof they’re committed to this peace process.”
The last major direct talks between Russia and Ukraine took place back in 2022 and ultimately failed to have much of an impact on the war.
In October that year, President Zelensky banned talks with Putin, arguing that they would be exploited by the Kremlin to foster separatism in Ukraine.
On April 22, 2025, however, he said that Ukraine is ready for “any format” of negotiations with Russia provided it fully ceases fire.
