Witkoff sat down with Putin on Wednesday after a meeting with Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who has been Moscow’s most vocal advocate for closer ties with the U.S. Witkoff has forged a close relationship with Dmitriev, who is an important conduit for Moscow’s messaging in the West.

The Russian president and Trump emissary held talks in Moscow days before the White House deadline for Russia to reach a peace deal with Ukraine.

The White House is racing to beat another self-imposed deadline to resolve Russia’s war in Ukraine, with President Donald Trump leaning hard on his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, to get Moscow to halt the fighting.