Russian envoy reports 'productive meeting' with US negotiators

WASHINGTON: Russian President Vladimir Putin’s envoy said Wednesday that he had joined a “productive meeting” with US negotiators, the first talks between Moscow and Washington since the start of the Iran war.

The discussions in Florida come after the United States lifted some sanctions on Russian oil earlier this week — imposed because of Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine — to ease prices as war engulfed the Middle East.

“Thank you, Steve, Jared, and Josh, for a productive meeting,” Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev posted on X, referring to US President Donald Trump’s roving global envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and White House Senior Advisor Josh Gruenbaum.

“The teams discussed a variety of topics and agreed to stay in touch,” Witkoff posted earlier.

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

Dmitriev said after the Florida meeting that Washington was “beginning to better understand” the importance of Russian oil.

“We discussed promising projects that could contribute to the restoration of Russian-American relations and the current crisis on global energy markets,” he wrote in a Telegram post.

“Today, many countries, primarily the United States, are beginning to better understand the key, systemic role of Russian oil and gas in ensuring the stability of the global economy, as well as the ineffectiveness and destructive nature of sanctions against Russia.”