A meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President's special envoy Steve Witkoff has begun in Russia. The meeting became known today, October 21, and started shortly after noon.
Other developments also emerged the same day. In particular, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that the first tanker under the "diesel deal" will depart for the US on October 22. This statement was made just minutes before the start of the Putin-Witkoff meeting.
Details of the content of the talks or their progress have not yet been disclosed. It is also unknown how long the meeting will last and whether any statements will be made afterward.
The agenda of the Putin-Witkoff talks has not been officially disclosed either, but Novak's statement about the first tanker under the "diesel deal" minutes before the meeting began is hardly coincidental. The chronology itself suggests that economic topics occupy a serious place on the agenda of these talks.
It is also noteworthy that the meeting became known only the same day, without extensive prior preparation. Such a format usually means that the parties want to achieve a preliminary result without excessive noise.
What will follow the meeting is not yet known. For now, only one thing is clear: the next day the tanker must set off for the US.
