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.

The meeting between US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday was “constructive and useful” the Kremlin said, according to Russian state media TASS.