United States’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saint Petersburg, Russia to discuss the conflict in Ukraine.

The Kremlin said that the meeting lasted for more than four hours yesterday and focused on aspects of a Ukrainian settlement. Russia’s special envoy Kirill Dmitriev described talks as productive. The talks come as the US continues efforts to broker a ceasefire deal to end the conflict, which has stalled amid negotiations on the conditions of the deal.

Earlier, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Putin and Witkoff might discuss the possibility of the Russian leader meeting Trump face-to-face. Putin and Trump have spoken by phone but are yet to meet in person since the US leader returned to the White House in January for a second four-year term.

Earlier yesterday, US President Donald Trump expressed frustration over the slow progress in peace talks. On his social media platform Truth Social, Trump called on Russia to accelerate ceasefire talks with Ukraine, warning that too many people are dying. He went on to describe the conflict as one that should have never happened and asserted that it would not have occurred under his presidency.