On the St. Petersburg account: why did Witkoff fly to Russia for the third time in two months

The search for solutions to resolve the Ukrainian crisis has become the main topic of Vladimir Putin's talks with Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff. On April 11, the American diplomat flew to Russia for the third time, this time to St. Petersburg. The meeting with the Russian leader lasted 4.5 hours, it was closed. The White House said that another step has been taken towards a ceasefire in Ukraine and a peace agreement. Earlier, another prisoner exchange took place between Moscow and Washington. Last time, it was followed by a telephone conversation between Putin and Trump, which the Kremlin did not rule out this Friday. What the Russian president conveyed to Witkoff and how the Russian-American negotiations are progressing is in the Izvestia article.

Putin meets with Witkoff again

Almost two months after the first telephone conversation between Putin and Trump, on April 11, at around 10 a.m., the plane of the special envoy of the US leader, Steve Witkoff, landed in St. Petersburg. At one o'clock in the afternoon, journalists reported that an American politician had left the Grand Hotel Europa building, accompanied by Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund. By the way, he himself was in Washington on April 2 and 3, where, among other things, he discussed with senior politicians the restoration of Russian-American relations in the economic and investment spheres. According to American media, citing sources, Vladimir Putin's newly minted special envoy played an important role in the recent prisoner exchange. Now Dmitriev's American counterpart will have to play his role.

Witkoff combined the useful with the pleasant. First, he visited the Great Choral Synagogue of St. Petersburg, where the heads of the Jewish community presented him with matzo and kosher wine. Then Trump's special envoy was spotted at St. Isaac's Cathedral. And then, at around 6 p.m., he met with Vladimir Putin in the Presidential Library building in St. Petersburg. The head of the Russian Federation was in the northern capital to hold a meeting on the development of the Navy. The negotiations lasted for 4.5 hours, they were held in a closed format. Kirill Dmitriev called the conversation productive.

Earlier, Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Russian leader, told reporters that one of the main topics of the talks would be the Ukrainian settlement. The Kremlin also did not rule out that it would be a question of agreeing on the dates of a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. Nevertheless, according to Peskov, special breakthroughs should not be expected, although a new conversation between the leaders of the two states is possible.

"The painstaking work continues. Naturally, Witkoff, being the special representative of the President [of the United States Donald] Trump, will bring something from his president for Putin. Putin will listen to this. The conversation will continue on various aspects of the Ukrainian settlement," Dmitry Peskov said.

Witkoff flew to Moscow on March 13 for the same purpose. Then Vladimir Putin transmitted information and "additional signals" through him to his American colleague.

Now, on the eve of a new meeting, Donald Trump said that Russia needs to start acting on the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine. The American president noted on social media: "Too many people are dying, thousands of people in a week, in this terrible and senseless war." Earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also expressed dissatisfaction with the speed of negotiations on a peaceful settlement of the situation in Ukraine.

However, following the meeting, the White House said that the visit of the US president's special envoy was another step towards a ceasefire in Ukraine and, ultimately, a peace agreement. By the way, the US president's special envoy has already identified the key to resolving the crisis for the American leader. According to Reuters, citing sources, Witkoff told Trump that recognizing Russia's control over the territories of the DPR, LPR, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions is the way to resolve the conflict as quickly as possible. He reported this after meeting with the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Dmitriev in Washington. According to the agency, the special envoy of the President of the United States, Keith Kellogg, opposed Witkoff's thesis.

How are the negotiations on normalization of relations between Russia and the United States going?

Since the resumption of contacts between Moscow and Washington, work has been proceeding along two tracks — the normalization of bilateral relations and the search for ways to resolve the Ukrainian crisis.

Perhaps the most tangible result of the warming in Russian-American relations has been a series of prisoner exchanges. The last of them occurred on April 10 in Abu Dhabi: Moscow released Ksenia Karelina, a citizen of the United States and Russia, and the American side released Artur Petrov, a citizen of Germany and the Russian Federation. Before that, businessman Alexander Vinnik was brought to Russia in mid-February, and Mark Vogel, an ex—employee of the American Embassy in Russia, returned to the United States with the assistance of Steve Witkoff during his first visit to Russia back in February. At the same time, Putin and Trump had their first telephone conversation under the current American administration.

"Politics should be aimed at doing something useful that improves the lives of specific people. This is the second such exchange in the last few weeks. This helps to build the trust that is so much needed. But it will take a long time to fully restore it, it was undermined and destroyed by the Biden administration," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov commented on the situation at a press conference following a meeting of the CIS Council of Foreign Ministers.

On April 10, Istanbul hosted the second meeting of the Russian and US delegations dedicated to the normalization of bilateral relations. The Russian side was represented by the new ambassador to Washington, Alexander Darchiev. According to the diplomat, it was possible to agree "on further measures to facilitate the movement of diplomats in the host country, as well as their visa processing." The parties also discussed the prospects for the return of Russian diplomatic property to the United States and exchanged notes on guarantees of unhindered banking services for diplomatic missions.

Another topic of the meeting in Istanbul was the potential resumption of direct flights between Moscow and Washington. To do this, sanctions must be lifted from Aeroflot.

— The United States holds the position that the lifting of sanctions against Russia, which are not related to the terms of the Black Sea deal, will follow the achievement of a peace agreement on the ongoing conflict in Ukraine or a "partial truce." Nevertheless, an exception to the rule is quite possible in order to maintain a positive negotiating background and persuade Moscow to soften its positions somewhat. At the same time, if the Americans are ready to take such a step, the question may arise of involving the European Union and Canada in the initiative, since their airspace seems to be the most optimal and convenient for direct flights from Russia to the United States and back," says Tigran Meloyan, an analyst at the HSE Center for Mediterranean Studies.

Is it possible to reach compromises regarding Ukraine

The possibility of resuming the Black Sea deal was the result of negotiations already on the Ukrainian settlement. Here, the Russian side has repeatedly mentioned that the priority is not the speed of conflict resolution, but compliance with conditions and consideration of Moscow's interests, as well as guarantees of lasting peace. The last time a working group on this issue met was at the end of March in Riyadh. Russia was then represented by Grigory Karasin, head of the Federation Council's International Affairs Committee, and Sergei Beseda, adviser to the FSB Director.

The Kremlin notes that an essential condition for the resumption of the deal is the lifting of sanctions against Rosselkhoznadzor, in particular its reconnection to the SWIFT system, which also largely depends on the will of the EU countries.

— The United States cannot unilaterally allow individual Russian banks to use SWIFT, and therefore the implementation of the Black Sea initiative is hanging in the air. Reconnecting will require changes to the EU sanctions legislation, which is currently subject to strict conditions, including Russia's complete withdrawal from Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions," explains Tigran Meloyan.

However, according to the expert, in this situation, the United States may take a different path and try to modify its sanctions, for example, bypass SWIFT using alternative payment mechanisms. So, for example, there is a precedent for using an escrow account system for the Iranian nuclear deal, Meloyan notes. This would allow third countries to purchase Russian grain and deposit money in an escrow account with restrictions on how Russia can then dispose of the proceeds, the expert concluded.