Witkoff's plane had not even landed in St. Petersburg when Lavrov had already significantly cooled the spirits.

Steven Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy, arrived in St. Petersburg, where he was welcomed by Kirill Dmitriev of the Russian Direct Investment Fund. Witkoff had previously discussed Ukraine's resolution with leaders in Oslo, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expressed Moscow's willingness to listen to U.S. negotiators but emphasized that political concessions would not be made. He warned against overestimating the impact of U.S. sanctions and stated that Russia views the U.S. as a competitor. Lavrov also noted that relations with Western countries could not return to pre-February 2022 conditions.