Russian President Vladimir Putin and US Presidential Special Envoy Steve Witkoff
TASS-FACTBOX. On December 2, 2025, a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump's Special Envoy Steve Witkoff will take place in the Kremlin.
The talks will focus on aspects of the Ukrainian settlement. This is the sixth meeting between Putin and Witkoff since the beginning of the year as Washington pushes to get a peace deal done, with its new plan to end the conflict in Ukraine to be at the center of Tuesday's talks.
Witkoff became the first representative of the US administration to visit Russia after Donald Trump assumed office in January 2025. He officially came to Moscow on prisoner exchange business, as he took back to Washington US citizen Marc Fogel, convicted in Russia for drug smuggling and pardoned by the Russian president on the eve of the visit. As part of a swap, Alexander Vinnik - accused in the US of cyber crimes - returned to Russia.
Later, in an interview with CBS, Witkoff said he had met with Russian President Vladimir Putin during that trip. The Kremlin did not comment on this statement.
Witkoff was received by Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin. The Kremlin press service did not disclose the topics of the talks. According to Witkoff, the meeting lasted three to four hours, and he described it as "positive." Putin passed along a gift for the US president through him - a painting by artist Nikas Safronov depicting Donald Trump after the assassination attempt during his campaign speech in Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024.
Witkoff visited St. Petersburg, where he held talks with Russian special presidential envoy on foreign investment and economic cooperation Kirill Dmitriev, also meeting with Putin again. According to the Kremlin press service, the conversation focused on aspects of a Ukrainian settlement. During the trip, Witkoff also visited St. Isaac's Cathedral and the Grand Choral Synagogue.
At the Kremlin, Witkoff held a three-hour meeting with Putin. Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said the talks were "constructive and very useful," contributing to a further convergence of positions between Russia and the United States not only on Ukraine but also on a number of other international issues. The parties discussed the possible resumption of direct Russia-Ukraine negotiations. Before the Kremlin meeting, Witkoff also spoke with Russian special envoy Dmitriev.
Witkoff arrived in Moscow for his fifth visit. At Vnukovo Airport, he was met by Dmitriev, and the two visited Zaryadye Park near Red Square before Witkoff proceeded to the Kremlin for another meeting with Putin. The talks lasted about three hours.
According to Ushakov, the sides held a "very useful and constructive conversation," during which Russia conveyed "certain signals" on the Ukrainian issue and received "corresponding signals" from President Trump.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump described the Moscow talks as "very productive." US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington now has "a better understanding of the conditions under which Russia is ready to end the war."