Steve Witkoff, the special envoy of U.S. President Donald Trump, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on Friday, April 11 as part of promoting peace for peace in the ongoing war in Ukraine. The high-profile conference was held at the City Presidential Library and aired on Russian state television. Izvestia released earlier videotapes showing Witkoff arrived at the venue with Putin’s investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev. The meeting is the third meeting of the third meeting of the two officials in 2025, demonstrating the growing importance of Witkov in the ever-evolving U.S.-Russian diplomatic channels. The latest discussions are still stagnating as negotiations on a full ceasefire in Ukraine. Moscow and Washington seem to be at a contradiction under the conditions of cessation of hostilities. Still, Trump has publicly pushed for faster progress and warned that second sanctions could be imposed on countries that buy Russian oil if Moscow delays its peace efforts. Russia has to move. Too many people (thousands per week) in a horrible and meaningless war, this is a war that shouldn’t have happened and if I were president, it wouldn’t have happened! Although Putin expressed his willingness to consider a ceasefire, he insisted that the core should be addressed first as Ukraine’s NATO aspirations and controversial region. Russia demands: Ukraine joins NATO ban, the size of Ukrainian troops is reduced, recognizing Russia’s control over four disputed Ukrainian regions. Despite controlling less than 20% of Ukrainian territory, Russia continues to move forward on the battlefield and believes it is negotiating from a strong position. However, Kiev rejected Moscow’s terms, calling them surrender. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that a potential face-to-face meeting between Trump and Putin was discussed. Both leaders have been speaking over the phone since Trump returned to the White House in January, but they have not met in person. Peskov’s grumpy expectations pointed out that the Witkoff-Putin meeting was not important, without major breakthroughs. He said the visit was a platform for Moscow to express its concerns, especially on the so-called mutual blow to energy infrastructure. Witkoff’s trip took place as tensions grew between the United States and Russia, two of its major Iranian allies, Iran and China. The United States is facing Iran over its nuclear program and is trapped in an escalating trade dispute with Beijing. These broader tensions cast a shadow on U.S.-Russian diplomacy. Witkoff plans to visit Oman on Saturday to hold talks with Iranian officials. If a new nuclear deal is not reached, President Trump threatens military action against Tehran. Russia proposed to mediate these negotiations. Meanwhile, officials from the United States and Russia resumed diplomatic ties during talks held in Istanbul on Thursday, including steps to normalize the embassy’s operations. U.S. envoy Witkoff, after the Ukrainian War, held talks with Putin as Trump urged Russia to move first appeared on Linda Ikeji’s blog.
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Ukraine War – Trump urges Russia to negotiate with Putin when urging “moving”.
