In a bid to end the war US Envoy Witkoff Meets Putin in St. Petersburg Amid Stalled Ukraine Ceasefire Talks. U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, in a diplomatic mission aimed at putting an end to the grinding war in Ukraine, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at St. Petersburg on Friday for over four hours of intensive talks. The meeting is the third between the two this year, to reach a ceasefire agreement amid rising international pressure and the Ukraine ceasefire talks come at a critical moment in U.S.-Russia relations.