Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, has arrived in Russia amid reports that he is scheduled to meet Vladimir Putin on Friday.
Kremlin officials confirmed Witkoff’s arrival on Friday morning but did not give any details about a potential meeting with the Russian president.
Witkoff, a key figure in the U.S. president’s foreign policy team, has already met with Putin on two occasions, as the American government seeks to normalize relations with Moscow and bring about an end to the fighting in Ukraine.
While the two warring parties have agreed to a partial truce on attacking energy infrastructure, both Russia and Ukraine have repeatedly accused each other of violating the deal.
Kyiv has also agreed to U.S. proposals for a blanket 30-day ceasefire, but Moscow has not, demanding that several conditions be met before any such truce. This has seemingly irked Trump’s top team, with the U.S. president saying last month that he was annoyed with Russia and threatening to slap tariffs on Russian oil exports.
Nonetheless, Washington-Moscow relations are gradually being restored, with Witkoff reportedly at the heart of these efforts. He met with Putin’s trade envoy Kirill Dmitriev in the U.S. last week, which Russian officials said was “the beginning of a respectful, good dialogue.”
On Thursday, the two countries concluded a prisoner swap, in which dual national Ksenia Karelina, who had been jailed for donating to a humanitarian fund for Ukraine, was released by Russia in exchange for Arthur Petrov, a German-Russian citizen accused by the U.S. of smuggling military technology.
Officials also met in Istanbul on Thursday for talks on improving the countries’ formal diplomatic links.
Following previous talks between Witkoff and Putin, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed concern that Trump’s envoy is helping to drive U.S. policy closer to Russia’s outlook on the war in Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said that Witkoff “often repeats Kremlin narratives,” calling his favorable statements about Putin’s intentions and his justification of Russian actions “a major obstacle.”
Witkoff, a key figure in the U.S. president’s foreign policy team, has already met with Putin on two occasions, as the American government seeks to normalize relations with Moscow and bring about an end to the fighting in Ukraine.
While the two warring parties have agreed to a partial truce on attacking energy infrastructure, both Russia and Ukraine have repeatedly accused each other of violating the deal.
Kyiv has also agreed to U.S. proposals for a blanket 30-day ceasefire, but Moscow has not, demanding that several conditions be met before any such truce. This has seemingly irked Trump’s top team, with the U.S. president saying last month that he was annoyed with Russia and threatening to slap tariffs on Russian oil exports.
Nonetheless, Washington-Moscow relations are gradually being restored, with Witkoff reportedly at the heart of these efforts. He met with Putin’s trade envoy Kirill Dmitriev in the U.S. last week, which Russian officials said was “the beginning of a respectful, good dialogue.”
On Thursday, the two countries concluded a prisoner swap, in which dual national Ksenia Karelina, who had been jailed for donating to a humanitarian fund for Ukraine, was released by Russia in exchange for Arthur Petrov, a German-Russian citizen accused by the U.S. of smuggling military technology.
Officials also met in Istanbul on Thursday for talks on improving the countries’ formal diplomatic links.
Following previous talks between Witkoff and Putin, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed concern that Trump’s envoy is helping to drive U.S. policy closer to Russia’s outlook on the war in Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said that Witkoff “often repeats Kremlin narratives,” calling his favorable statements about Putin’s intentions and his justification of Russian actions “a major obstacle.”
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