U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff praised Russian President Vladimir Putin during face-to-face talks in St. Petersburg, describing him as “a humanitarian” and thanking him following Russia’s release of an American teacher detained in Ukraine.
“You speak a lot about the fact that my president, President Trump, is a humanitarian. You are also a humanitarian, sir. I appreciate that, I congratulate you, and I thank you again,” Witkoff said on Wednesday.
His remarks appeared in a video sequence broadcast by Russian state media and subsequently shared on social media.
The statement came after Russia released the 74-year-old American teacher, who had been detained in Ukraine and later convicted by a Russian court on mercenary-related charges.
Witkoff’s visit is the latest U.S. effort to bring Moscow and Kyiv to the negotiating table, more than four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The American envoy met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Oslo on Tuesday. He is expected to propose trilateral talks involving Putin, Zelenskyy and U.S. President Donald Trump as Washington seeks to advance diplomatic efforts to end the war.
