US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a surprise visit on April 11 to St. Petersburg, their third meeting since US President Donald Trump took office in January pledging to repair ties with Moscow.
Witkoff stopped in St. Petersburg on his way to high-level talks with Tehran over Iran's nuclear program scheduled for April 12 in Oman.
News of the meeting broke as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on X that a month had now passed since Russia rejected a US proposal for a "full and unconditional cease-fire."
Hours after Witkoff landed, Trump also posted on social media: "Russia has to get moving. Too many people are DYING." He again called the conflict "senseless" and said it "should have never happened."
Putin was shown on state TV greeting Witkoff in St. Petersburg's presidential library for talks that state news agencies later said lasted more than four hours.
"The theme of the meeting -- aspects of a Ukrainian settlement," the Kremlin said in a statement after the meeting concluded.
Witkoff's visit came amid a flurry of diplomatic activity around the war in Ukraine that includes US-Ukrainian talks in Washington and a meeting chaired by Britain and Germany in Brussels.
The Russian state news agency TASS said Witkoff immediately met with Kirill Dmitriev, a well-connected Kremlin insider and head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund.
Last week the two men met in Washington, D.C., where they discussed strengthening bilateral relations.
Dmitriev called the talks on April 11 productive, according to TASS.
The visit comes a day after US and Russian officials met in Istanbul to discuss normalization of diplomatic ties, potentially reversing some of the mass expulsions of embassy staff since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Last month, Witkoff's meeting with Putin paved the way for a phone call between the two presidents. He also visited in February, and was part of the US-Russia talks in Riyadh.
Who is Steve Witkoff?
Witkoff is a New York property developer and friend of Trump who has no previous diplomatic experience. This has raised concerns in some quarters about his lead role in such delicate talks.
"The fact that he lacks the context and history of how Russians negotiate and deal with the American side is, I think, a problem," said David Kramer, who held a senior position at the State Department during the George W. Bush administration.
"Putin says nice things to him, gives him a portrait of the president, talks about going to church and praying for his friend (Trump)," Kramer told RFE/RL on April 10.
"Those are pretty old KGB tactics. And Witkoff, I don't think, has the awareness to understand what is going on there."
Trump has strongly praised Witkoff. Speaking in January, he called him "a great deal-maker...a great negotiator, a great person."
Witkoff's visit will be aimed at pushing forward stalled US efforts to broker a cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine.
Trump has recently criticized Russia for ramping up its bombing campaign of Ukraine and not moving faster on peace talks.
But Trump has also said Zelenskyy was "trying to back out" of an agreement giving Washington access to Kyiv's deposits of rare earth minerals.
A Ukrainian delegation was due for talks on the deal in Washington later on April 11.
Turkey Pledges Black Sea Mission
Meanwhile, in Brussels, progress has been made in forming a European-led military force to deploy to Ukraine in the event of a cease-fire or peace deal.
Two European diplomatic sources told RFE/RL that Turkey had declared it was willing to "assume responsibility for the maritime dimension."
This was at a meeting of the "coalition of willing" on April 10.
So far, only Britain and France have made public pledges to commit forces, although other countries have said they are open to doing so depending on circumstances of their deployment.
On April 11, Britain and Germany chaired a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Brussels, which coordinates military aid to Ukraine.
This was set up in 2022 and chaired by then-US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. His successor, Pete Hegseth, has taken a back seat in the group and attended this meeting by video link.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Hegseth made "interesting and correct assessments" in his comments.
Ahead of the talks, European countries pledged new support for Ukraine in the coming months and years.
Britain and Norway announced a joint package for military drones, radar systems, and anti-tank mines.
Germany and the Netherlands said they would provide additional air and missile defense systems.
"This will have an impact on the battlefield this year," said Pistorius.
Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans told RFE/RL that he expects the United States to put its “political weight” behind the European plans, and said the Netherlands and other allies are already accelerating their material support for Ukraine.
