Vladimir Putin and Steve Witkoff met for four hours, according to reports.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt stated on Friday that Steve Witkoff’s trip to Russia is intended to facilitate direct communication between the US and the Kremlin. This is part of a larger effort to negotiate a ceasefire and ultimately a peace agreement in the Ukraine conflict.
Witkoff, a close associate of US President Donald Trump, has been designated as his special envoy to improve relations with Russia. Today’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg marks Witkoff’s third visit since February, during which he successfully negotiated a prisoner exchange that both Washington and Moscow hailed as a confidence-building measure. He also participated in a high-level US delegation that met with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia last month to discuss the Ukraine conflict.
”I can confirm that Mr. Witkoff is in Russia to engage in direct communications with both the Kremlin and Vladimir Putin,” Leavitt informed reporters at a press briefing.
”This represents another step forward in the negotiation process aimed at achieving a ceasefire and, ultimately, a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine,” she said, while refraining from providing further details. “As these negotiations are ongoing, I will obviously avoid preempting the president or his team. However, I believe the president has made it quite clear that he is consistently frustrated with both sides involved in this conflict, and he desires to see an end to the fighting.”
Speaking to reporters before Friday’s meeting, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov indicated that the duration of the talks would be flexible, potentially lasting “an hour, two, three, or even four hours; for as long as President Putin deems necessary.”
Last week, Witkoff held discussions with Russian presidential aide Kirill Dmitriev in Washington. Dmitriev, who heads the Russian Direct Investment Fund and advises Putin on international economic cooperation, was seen leaving a hotel in St. Petersburg with Trump’s envoy that morning.
Peskov cautioned against expecting significant breakthroughs from the meeting but mentioned potential discussion points, including the normalization of bilateral relations, a possible face-to-face meeting between the two presidents, and the conflict in Ukraine.