Witkoff meets Putin to discuss U.S.-Russia relations in February 2023

Steve Witkoff, the former U.S. ambassador to Russia, was sent to meet President Vladimir Putin in February 2023, bringing with him a deep understanding of Russian politics that the U.S. had been scrambling to grasp. Witkoff spent eight years in Moscow, from 2016 to 2019, when the U.S. was already under pressure from the war in Ukraine and a growing sense that the Kremlin’s inner circle was more opaque than the public narrative suggested. His appointment was part of a broader U.S. effort to re‑engage with Russia in a way that could influence the conflict and the broader geopolitical environment.

The context of Witkoff’s visit is the U.S.’s shifting strategy toward Russia. After the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Washington imposed a series of sanctions and cut diplomatic ties. Yet the Biden administration also sought to keep a channel open to prevent further escalation. In February, the U.S. aimed to