Russian President Vladimir Putin commenced talks with United States Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff in Moscow, the Kremlin revealed in a statement on Friday.

The topic of the discussions is largely reported to concern the normalization of United States-Russia relations, with certain aspects of the Ukraine conflict also brought forward.

Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters earlier in the day that Witkoff's visit shouldn't be seen as "momentous," but that the parties continue to work "meticulously" to normalize relations.