Mideast War: Russian negotiator meets Trump envoys in Florida

WASHINGTON: Russian President Vladimir Putin’s envoy met US negotiators in Florida on Wednesday, the United States said, in their first talks since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran.

“The teams discussed a variety of topics and agreed to stay in touch,” Trump’s roving global envoy Steve Witkoff said in a statement on X after the talks with Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev.

The talks come after the US earlier this week lifted some sanctions on Russian oil — imposed because of Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine — to ease prices amid the Iran war.

Trump said this week that Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he spoke to on Monday, wanted to be “helpful” in relation to the Middle East war.

Iran has warned it could wage a prolonged war with the United States and Israel that would “destroy” the world economy, even as US President Donald Trump said late Wednesday the Islamic republic was facing imminent defeat.

The defiance from Tehran came as fighting around the strategic Strait of Hormuz — the waterway carrying a fifth of the world’s oil — sent shock waves through energy markets, prompting emergency releases from global reserves and a limited draw on US stockpiles.

Oil prices have surged since February 28, when the United States and Israel launched air strikes on Iran that killed its supreme leader and plunged the Middle East into conflict.

Retaliatory Iranian missile strikes and drone attacks have brought shipping through the strait almost to a halt, forcing governments to scramble to contain the fallout.