Witkoff Lands in Russia for Putin Talks as Ukraine Push Intensifies
Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) chief executive Kirill Dmitriev met the envoy at Pulkovo Airport, and the two left in a motorcade shortly afterward.
Kremlin foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov said the talks will take place at the Konstantinovsky Palace in St. Petersburg.
“Yes, Putin will receive Witkoff. At the Konstantinovsky Palace. The meeting is scheduled for the first half of today,” Ushakov told reporters in Moscow.
The war in Ukraine will dominate the agenda, he said. “Negotiations on the Ukraine conflict will naturally be the main part of today’s contact.”
Ushakov dismissed any suggestion of a hastily arranged visit, calling it “a planned event.” He elaborated: “I would call it a planned event. It was agreed upon several days ago. There was no secret about it for us or for those who prepared the meeting,” he said.
Asked whether Moscow shares Trump’s view that the conflict could be settled without President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the table, Ushakov said the Kremlin has had no dealings with the Ukrainian leader.
“We have had no contacts with Zelenskyy. Everything we agreed upon in the past was always done without him,” Ushakov said.
Dmitriev, who also serves as a presidential aide, will take part in the meeting, Ushakov added.
Special envoy Jared Kushner will miss the trip because of illness, according to Ushakov.
“Kushner, as we were informed, has fallen ill and refrained from making the trip. As far as I know, he was also absent in Norway, where Witkoff met with several European representatives and Zelenskyy,” he said.
Kushner could still take part by video link, a source told a Russian state news agency.
“Due to personal circumstances that deserve consideration, Kushner did not come to St. Petersburg, but the option of joining online is certainly available,” the source said.
The Russia visit follows Tuesday’s talks in Oslo on a settlement of the Ukraine war. Witkoff and Zelenskyy attended, along with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store and Finnish President Alexander Stubb. Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, joined remotely.
After the consultations, Stubb said progress had been made and that proposals on security and economic issues had been developed, which Witkoff planned to present to the Russian leadership.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the Oslo meeting a success but said it produced no surprises.
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