The key facts

  • Jared Kushner took part in the October 21 meeting between Putin and Witkoff via video conference due to illness, Peskov said.
  • The talks in St. Petersburg lasted about three hours; the topics were conflict settlement and bilateral relations.
  • Witkoff brought documents with the results of the meeting in Oslo with European and Ukrainian representatives; this is his ninth visit to Russia.

Kushner took part in the talks remotely

American negotiator Jared Kushner joined the conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US Special Envoy Steven Witkoff via video conference, as he could not attend in person due to illness. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Rossiya 1 journalist Pavel Zarubin about this. “Kushner joined via video conference,” Gazeta.Ru quoted him as saying.

Details of the meeting in St. Petersburg

The meeting between Putin and Witkoff took place on October 21 in St. Petersburg, at the Constantine Palace. According to Peskov, the interlocutors had a substantive conversation, and the talks themselves lasted about three hours. Media reported that after the meeting ended, Witkoff left the Constantine Palace. The main topics were the settlement of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the development of bilateral relations between Russia and the United States.

What was discussed in the open part

In the open part of the talks, Putin emphasized his interest in restoring economic cooperation with the United States and asked about the results of the talks in Norway. Witkoff said he had brought special documents with the results of the meeting with European and Ukrainian representatives in Oslo. This is already Witkoff's ninth visit to Russia. It was previously also reported about Witkoff's request to Putin regarding the Ukrainian conflict.