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.

President Donald Trump’s trusted foreign envoy Steve Witkoff landed in Moscow early on Wednesday after the Kremlin requested a meeting with him in a last-ditch effort to avoid the punishing new sanctions Trump has threatened to impose this week,