Vladimir Putin, using his ties with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, effectively selected Steve Witkoff as his preferred interlocutor from the Trump administration, according to The Wall Street Journal. According to the newspaper's sources, Putin was interested specifically in meeting with Witkoff. The invitation to travel to Russia came from Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who used Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as an intermediary. The article notes that the Saudi crown prince has long been a close friend of Dmitriev. As the sources say, Moscow had one condition for the meeting with the US representative: Steve Witkoff had to come alone, without CIA officers, diplomats, or even a translator.
The WSJ describes that during the first meeting between Witkoff and Putin, the US representative continuously took notes while listening to the Kremlin leader lecture about Russia's "thousand-year history." At the same time, Putin was assessing whether the man sitting across from him was genuinely open to the Russian position.
The newspaper also highlights that Witkoff has already made six trips to Moscow, while never visiting Ukraine. According to a White House representative, Witkoff flies to Russia on his private jet and pays all expenses himself.
