A Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev met with U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, in St. Petersburg on April 11, Russian state media TASS reported.
Axios, citing its source, said Witkoff is also expected to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin later in the day. Putin is currently in St. Petersburg for a scheduled meeting on the development of the Russian Navy, according to the Kremlin.
Dmitriev, the Kyiv-born head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund, was appointed by Putin as special envoy for economic affairs to lead Moscow's outreach to the Trump administration.
The talks come as Trump's push for a ceasefire remains deadlocked. Russia has rejected a full 30-day truce agreed upon by Washington and Kyiv in March and continues to violate the partial energy ceasefire that followed.
Trump, who initially avoided criticizing Putin, has since adopted more aggressive language, saying he was "pissed off" and "very angry" over Moscow's continued attacks on Ukraine and Putin's personal hostility toward President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Despite repeated threats of additional sanctions and tariffs, the U.S. has yet to implement new punitive measures against Moscow.
The April 11 meeting follows a second round of diplomatic talks in Istanbul between U.S. and Russian officials focused on embassy operations. The war in Ukraine was not reportedly discussed.
Putin and Witkoff have already met before. Their growing engagement underscores Moscow's interest in using Trump's mediation efforts to reshape its relationship with Washington — potentially trading peace concessions for economic incentives.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
(Updated: )
