Russia’s lead negotiator, Kirill Dmitriev, said they talked about restoring U.S.–Russia relations and the global energy market disruptions amid the Iran war.
President Donald Trump’s representatives held talks with a Russian delegation in Florida on March 11, U.S. special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff said.
The Russian side was led by Kirill Dmitriev, President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy for international economic and investment cooperation, while the U.S. side included Witkoff, Jared Kushner—Trump’s son-in-law and adviser—and White House senior adviser Josh Gruenbaum.
“The teams discussed a variety of topics and agreed to stay in touch,” Witkoff wrote in a post on X March 11, without disclosing further details about the discussions.
In a post on Telegram, Dmitriev thanked Witkoff, Kushner, and Gruenbaum for what he described as a productive meeting. He said the talks touched on potential projects that could help restore U.S.-Russia relations, as well as the “current crisis situation in global energy markets.”
The Florida meeting came just days after Trump and Putin spoke by phone on March 9. According to Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, the hour-long call, initiated by Trump, covered both the war in Iran and prospects for peace in Ukraine.
Ushakov said Putin outlined ideas aimed at bringing the Iran conflict to a “prompt political and diplomatic settlement,” including outreach to Gulf leaders, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, and other heads of state. Trump later told reporters he had “a very good call” with Putin and confirmed that they discussed both Ukraine and the Middle East.
It remains unclear whether the latest U.S.–Russia contacts touched on allegations that Moscow has provided intelligence to Iran, including information that could help Tehran target U.S. forces in the Gulf. Trump did not directly confirm or deny the reports, but suggested that any such assistance would have little practical impact.
“If you take a look at what’s happened to Iran in the last week, if they’re getting information, it’s not helping them,” the president told reporters on March 7 aboard Air Force One while traveling to Miami.
Asked whether reported Russian assistance would affect his view of the bilateral relationship, Trump drew a comparison to Russian’s stance on U.S. intelligence support for Ukraine.
“They’d say we do it against them. Wouldn’t they say that we do it against them?” he said.
By Bill Pan
