A Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev met with U.S. President Donald Trump's particular envoy for the Center East, Steve Witkoff, in St. Petersburg on April 11, Russian state media TASS reported.
Axios, citing its supply, stated Witkoff can be anticipated to fulfill Russian President Vladimir Putin later within the day. Putin is at the moment in St. Petersburg for a scheduled assembly on the event of the Russian Navy, in line with the Kremlin.
Dmitriev, the Kyiv-born head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund, was appointed by Putin as particular envoy for financial affairs to steer Moscow's outreach to the Trump administration.
The talks come as Trump's push for a ceasefire stays deadlocked. Russia has rejected a full 30-day truce agreed upon by Washington and Kyiv in March and continues to violate the partial vitality ceasefire that adopted.
Trump, who initially averted criticizing Putin, has since adopted extra aggressive language, saying he was "pissed off" and "very offended" over Moscow's continued assaults on Ukraine and Putin's private hostility towards President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Regardless of repeated threats of further sanctions and tariffs, the U.S. has but to implement new punitive measures in opposition to Moscow.
The April 11 assembly follows a second spherical of diplomatic talks in Istanbul between U.S. and Russian officers centered on embassy operations. The conflict in Ukraine was not reportedly mentioned.
Putin and Witkoff have already met earlier than. Their rising engagement underscores Moscow's curiosity in utilizing Trump's mediation efforts to reshape its relationship with Washington — doubtlessly buying and selling peace concessions for financial incentives.
The Kyiv IndependentTim Zadorozhnyy