UPDATE - US special envoy Witkoff arrives in St. Petersburg to meet Putin
- US envoy to hold talks on Ukrainian settlement with Russian leadership following consultations with Kyiv representatives
Loading…
Loading…
- US envoy to hold talks on Ukrainian settlement with Russian leadership following consultations with Kyiv representatives
UPDATES WITH STATEMENTS BY KREMLIN FOREIGN POLICY AIDE YURY USHAKOV
By Elena Teslova
MOSCOW (AA) - US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in St. Petersburg on Wednesday and will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, an official said.
Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) CEO Kirill Dmitriev greeted Witkoff at Pulkovo Airport, and their motorcade soon left the airport.
Commenting on Witkoff's visit, Kremlin foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov said Putin will meet the US envoy 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.
Talks on the Ukraine conflict will be the main focus of the meeting, he added. "Negotiations on the Ukraine conflict will naturally be the main part of today's contact."
The official described the meeting as "a planned event" agreed upon several days in advance.
"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.
Commenting on Trump's remarks that the Ukraine conflict could be settled without President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's presence, Ushakov said Moscow has not held talks 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 when asked whether Moscow shared Trump's position.
Presidential aide Dmitriev will also attend the meeting, Ushakov said.
Special envoy Jared Kushner will not travel to St. Petersburg because he is unwell, Ushakov added.
"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, however, may join the St. Petersburg talks remotely, a source told Russian state news agency TASS.
"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.
On Tuesday, Witkoff took part in talks on a settlement to the Ukraine conflict in Oslo, which were also attended by Zelenskyy, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store and Finnish President Alexander Stubb.
Kushner, who is Trump’s son-in-law, joined the discussion remotely.
Following the consultations, Stubb said progress had been made and certain elements concerning security and the economy had been developed, which Witkoff planned to present to the Russian leadership.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the Oslo meeting as successful, but said it had produced nothing unexpected.