Russian state media reported that Witkoff had also thanked Putin on Trump’s behalf for the deal struck with Washington earlier this month to import Russian diesel.
The first shipment under the agreement will leave Russia “in two to three days”, Putin said during the meeting, as quoted by state news agency TASS.
The diesel deal infuriated Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, triggering a tumultuous few weeks of deteriorating relations during which Trump said it was time for Ukraine to elect a new leader and suspended a number of sanctions.
Ahead of the US midterm elections in November, Trump has also sought to blame fuel prices, which have risen since the start of the US-led war on Iran, on Ukrainian strikes against Russian energy sites.
Kyiv meanwhile accused Washington of halting intelligence sharing on deadly Russian strikes, causing Ukrainians to lose their lives – an allegation Washington rejected as “scandalous”.
The Ukrainian president said on Tuesday that such information sharing had resumed, following talks with Witkoff in Oslo described by the US as “positive”.
As talks were under way in St Petersburg, Zelensky wrote on social media that “much depends on whether the American side can hear something new from Russia today – about peace, and not about continuing the war”.
Russian state news agency Ria Novosti reported that the US and Russia discussed the outcome of the Oslo talks and that Witkoff had brought documents “outlining approaches to the peace process”.
They also discussed the “situation surrounding Iran”, a possible meeting in China, and economic cooperation with the US, with Putin reportedly stating that Russia could provide large quantities of fertiliser to the American market.
Witkoff was filmed by Russian TV saying the diesel deal was an example to Ukraine of what could be achieved by working together.
“Your decision to remove export controls on diesel oil from Russia, not just to the US but also to the world at large in the midst of an economic shock, I think that was really important that that happened,” he told Putin.
“I know [President Trump] is deeply grateful for it.”
