US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin during talks in St. Petersburg on Wednesday for lifting export controls on Russian diesel to ease a global shortage driven by the Iran war’s disruption of Strait of Hormuz oil flows. Witkoff told Putin that President Donald Trump, along with American farmers and truckers hit by the diesel crisis, is “deeply grateful” for the sales to the US and other nations, while Putin responded that Russia could also supply large quantities of fertilizers to the US market.
Witkoff said he brought “ideas” for a potential peace deal in Ukraine to the meeting, where Putin asked him to convey his gratitude to Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for helping resolve humanitarian issues related to the conflict. Putin also reiterated Moscow’s readiness to help settle the US-Iran war by drawing on decades of “special, trusting relations” with Tehran, saying Washington is already aware of Russian proposals and raising the possibility of a meeting in China to discuss the wider Middle East.