Trump envoy Witkoff heads to Russia, likely to meet Putin as Iran, China tensions flare
US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff flew into Russia on Friday and it looked likely that he would hold talks with President Vladimir Putin, as US tensions with Moscow’s close allies Iran and China spiked.
The Kremlin confirmed Witkoff’s arrival, and the Izvestia news outlet released video of Witkoff leaving a hotel in Russia’s second city St Petersburg, accompanied by Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s investment envoy.
The Kremlin declined to confirm if Witkoff would hold talks with Putin, but the Axios website, which reported his trip earlier on Friday citing a source familiar with the matter, said that Witkoff and Putin would meet.
Witkoff has emerged as a key figure in the on and off rapprochement between Moscow and Washington amid talk from the Russian side of potential joint investments in the Arctic and in Russian rare earth minerals as the two countries continue to search for the outline of a possible peace deal in Ukraine.
Putin was also in St Petersburg on Friday to hold what the Kremlin called an “extraordinarily important” meeting about the development of the Russian Navy which is in the throes of a major modernisation and expansion drive.
If he does meet Witkoff, in a third meeting this year, it would come at a time when US tensions with Iran and China – two countries with which Russia has close ties – are severely strained over Tehran’s nuclear programme and a burgeoning trade war with Beijing.
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