The key facts

  • Steve Witkoff's plane took off from Pulkovo airport on October 21
  • Putin stated interest in restoring economic cooperation with the US
  • Witkoff brought documents with the outcomes of the meeting in Oslo with European and Ukrainian representatives

Witkoff departed St. Petersburg after meeting with Putin

The plane of US President's special envoy Steve Witkoff took off from St. Petersburg's Pulkovo airport after the conclusion of talks, RIA Novosti reports, citing data from Gazeta.Ru. The American delegation at the airport was accompanied by the special representative of the Russian president, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Kirill Dmitriev, who escorted Witkoff to the boarding stairs.

The course of the visit and the content of the talks

On the morning of October 21 Dmitriev met Witkoff at Pulkovo airport, after which the motorcade headed to the Constantine Palace. The meeting between Vladimir Putin and Witkoff took place in St. Petersburg. In the open part of the talks, the Russian leader emphasized the existence of interest in the topic of restoring economic cooperation with the United States and asked about the results of the talks in Norway. Witkoff, for his part, said he had brought special documents with the outcomes of the meeting with European and Ukrainian representatives in Oslo. Details of how Putin welcomed Trump's special envoy are described in a Gazeta.Ru article.

Context

Earlier, as reported, the US, Ukraine and the EU agreed on a unified position on ending the conflict. Witkoff's visit to St. Petersburg took place against the backdrop of these agreements, however, sources do not disclose details of the documents he brought or the content of the closed part of the talks — the outcomes of the meeting have not yet been officially published.

Why this matters

The meeting in St. Petersburg touches on several parties to the conflict at once: the US, Russia, Ukraine and European countries, since Trump's envoy conveyed to the Russian side the outcomes of the Oslo consultations with the Europeans and Ukrainians. The practical significance of the visit is determined by two stated topics — the possible restoration of economic cooperation between Moscow and Washington and the position agreed by the US, Ukraine and the EU on ending the conflict. However, without disclosure of the contents of the documents and the closed part of the talks, it is not yet possible to draw conclusions about the results of the meeting.