Washington (TDI): The United States Special Envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, to discuss the future of Russia-Ukraine war. The meeting was held on Friday, which according to Russian Foreign Ministry, was “very productive.”
The Russian President welcomed the US Special Envoy at the St. Petersburg’s Presidential Library, for talks, which lasted for about four hours.
The talks were scheduled after the US President, Donald Trump, told Moscow “to get moving.” During the meeting, Steve Witkoff and the Russian President negotiated a peace settlement to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
After the meeting, the US President commented, “We had very good and productive discussions with President Vladimir Putin of Russia yesterday, and there is a very good chance that this horrible, bloody war can finally come to an end.”
Welcome to Saint Petersburg, Russia! 🕊️
Productive discussions with @SteveWitkoff. pic.twitter.com/CJbxQcu0FT
— Kirill A. Dmitriev (@kadmitriev) April 11, 2025
He also hoped that Russia and Ukraine would agree to a swift ceasefire to pause fighting in the conflict permanently, which he earlier warned, had the potential to turn into World War Three, and cost even more lives if continued.
Earlier, President Trump hinted at imposing secondary sanctions on the countries who have been purchasing oil from Russia, if he feels that Moscow is avoiding signing the peace deal.
Recently, Ukrainian officials had sent a list of targets to Washington, that it believed Russia had struck, which is in direct violation of the 30-day Russia-Ukraine energy infrastructure ceasefire.
President Trump had commented, “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!!!”
Read More: Russia Warns Ukraine of ‘Symmetrical Response’ After Attack on Energy Facilities
According to Reuters, US’ Special Envoy, Steve Witkoff told President Trump, following the meeting, that the quickest path to peace in Ukraine would be to give Russia ownership of four eastern Ukrainian regions.
However, neither Kremlin nor the White House had commented on it.
Since the new round of ceasefire talks began, Russian President, Vladimir Putin, has been emphasizing that he would agree to a full ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine when the root cause of the conflict has been addressed.
Steve Witkoff has become a prominent figure for reproaching between Russia and the United States. Previously, he also held discussions with the Russian counterparts on a potential joint investment between the US and Russia in the Arctic region.
Javaria Khalid is a Web Contributor at The Diplomatic Insight Magazine. She specializes in covering geopolitical developments, international relations, diplomatic, and socio-economic developments in Europe and Pakistan.
