Putin meets with US special envoy for Ukraine talks

St. Petersburg, April 12 (IANS) Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Steve Witkoff, a special envoy of US President Donald Trump, in St. Petersburg for talks on the Ukraine conflict.

The Kremlin said the meeting focused on "various aspects of the Ukrainian settlement," without elaborating.

The talks were held behind closed doors, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said earlier. He said the two sides would exchange views on the Ukraine issue but no breakthrough was expected in the talks, Xinhua news agency reported.

Before meeting with Putin, Witkoff held talks with Kirill Dmitriev, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and the Russian special presidential envoy for economic cooperation with foreign countries. Dmitriev later said that talks with Witkoff were "productive."

According to Russian news agency TASS, Witkoff arrived in Russia on a business visit Friday morning and departed St. Petersburg late in the evening.

Earlier the Russian consulate in Istanbul said that progress has been made on ensuring banking and financial services for Russian and US diplomatic missions during the second round of bilateral talks in Istanbul.

Delegations from the two countries "exchanged diplomatic notes to formalise agreed commitments. These commitments are designed to facilitate unimpeded banking and financial services for Russian and American diplomatic missions, in addition to ensuring the fulfillment of the Russian Federation's contributions to the budgets of the UN and other international organisations," the consulate said in a press release.

The two sides "agreed to develop a roadmap" regarding the return of six diplomatic real estate properties confiscated by US authorities and lawfully owned by Russia, the consulate said.

--IANS

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