Marco Rubio announces “positive” talks between Steve Witkoff and Volodymyr Zelensky / Witkoff is expected in St. Petersburg for negotiations with Russian officials on ending the conflict

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described as positive and free of surprises the conversation held on Tuesday with envoy Steve Witkoff, who is due to present the ideas discussed in Washington to the Russian side. Witkoff is expected in St. Petersburg on Wednesday for negotiations with Russian officials on ending the conflict.

Rubio said that the meeting allowed for the drafting of proposals that can be conveyed to Moscow, and that the United States will subsequently be able to assess whether there are chances of achieving diplomatic progress. The statements come at a time marked by tensions between the Trump administration and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The disagreements intensified after Donald Trump announced an agreement with Russia on the delivery of diesel fuel and temporarily suspended the application of legislation allowing sanctions to be imposed on Russia and states that import energy from Moscow. Kyiv also complained about issues related to the delivery of missiles for Patriot systems, access to Starlink, and the interruption of intelligence sharing.

Rubio stated that the U.S. president does not control the Starlink and Starshield companies and that he had not known in advance about their decisions.