Witkoff’s chat with Putin unlikely to yield tangible results, diplomat says

“It is difficult to expect a different result from repeating the same actions — referring to Witkoff’s meeting with Putin — in the same context,” Korsunsky said.

“It seems to me that this is more likely a demonstration of activity. As we all understand very well, President Donald Trump’s goal is the election, and against the backdrop of the catastrophic drop in his approval rating, the Republican Party is very nervous. He needs to demonstrate activity and his ability to resolve the most pressing crises of our time. That is exactly what we are seeing.”

Korsunsky added that he saw no reason for Putin to agree to a ceasefire at this time.

“It seems to Vladimir Putin that everything is going very well: he has the ability to attack Ukraine almost unhindered, kill people and destroy infrastructure,” the diplomat said.

“So why would he agree to any compromises now? Therefore, I expect this to be just another stage, which is certainly necessary. But whether it will produce results is somewhat doubtful.”

Earlier the same day, Witkoff met with Putin in St. Petersburg. Before that, he held talks in Oslo with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, and Finnish President Alexander Stubb. Witkoff brought Putin documents outlining approaches to ending the war and said the groundwork for a ceasefire was already in place.