Putin seeks US ties restoration without concessions
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The gist
Putin told US envoy Steve Witkoff Russia wants economic ties with Washington restored and offered more fertilizer exports.
Moscow nears normalized US ties without giving ground on Ukraine, affecting Kyiv and Europe.
Background
Vladimir Putin is Russia's president; Steve Witkoff is the US special envoy who met him in St Petersburg. Since Donald Trump's January 2025 inauguration, Washington has eased pressure on Moscow — waiving sanctions and tariffs on Russian goods and agreeing to buy Russian diesel — while Russia has placed 20 foreign-owned firms under temporary administration, only three of them American. Russia has sought to separate the war in Ukraine from potential business deals with the US, and those efforts now appear to be working, with Putin closer to normalizing relations with Washington than at any point since the war began.
How it unfolded
- Jan 2025Donald Trump is inaugurated; since then Putin has placed 20 foreign-owned firms under temporary administration, only three linked to the US.
- Feb 2025Talks begin in Riyadh, with Trump envoys Witkoff and Kushner using the prospect of multibillion-dollar deals to push Putin toward a settlement.
- Oct 2025Trump imposes significant sanctions on Russia's two largest oil companies, saying negotiations over ending the war 'just don't go anywhere'.
- Oct 9, 2026Trump announces the US would buy Russian diesel, asking for no concessions from Putin in return.
- Oct 17, 2026Trump signs an executive order waiving key sanctions and tariffs on Russian goods.
- Oct 20, 2026Secretary of State Marco Rubio calls talks with Ukraine's Zelenskyy in Oslo 'positive'; Witkoff calls the Oslo talks 'productive'.
- Oct 21, 2026Witkoff meets Putin in St Petersburg; Putin announces the release of American prisoner Stephen Hubbard and says Russia is interested in restoring economic ties and ready to supply more fertilizers to the US.
- Oct 22, 2026Reports say Putin is seeking to improve relations with Trump without making concessions to end the war in Ukraine.
Who’s saying what
- Official
- Putin said Russia is interested in restoring economic cooperation with the US, is ready to supply larger quantities of fertilizers, and conveyed thanks to Trump for his efforts to settle the conflict.
- Official
- Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow would welcome anything economically beneficial but only without political concessions, did not expect a 'miracle', and warned a future US administration could reverse any concessions.
- Official
- Witkoff said there is 'substantial groundwork in place' to move toward ending the conflict and hoped Putin would consider resuming three-way talks between Russia, the US and Ukraine.
- Analysts
- Reports describe Putin as closer than ever to normalizing relations with Washington without compromises on Ukraine, as Russia separates the war from business deals with the US.
Still unverified
A person close to Russian financial regulators said it was not in Moscow's interest to take as tough a line on US firms as it does on European ones; negotiator Kirill Dmitriev said last week Russia and the US would soon announce new joint measures.