United States Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff officially began his talks with Russia's President Vladimir Putin, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday.

Russian presidential envoy for foreign investment and economic relations, Kirill Dmitriev and Putin's foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, will also be present during the negotiations. Peskov noted that the contact with Witkoff is "a very good, reliable channel for communicating positions" and that "the substance is very complex, so the conversations, as a rule, are quite long."

Witkoff's previous meeting with the Russian president took place two weeks ago and lasted roughly four hours and 30 minutes.