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WASHINGTON: Russian President Vladimir Putin\u2019s envoy said Wednesday that he had joined a \u201cproductive meeting\u201d with US negotiators, the first talks between Moscow and Washington since the start of the Iran war.<\/strong><\/p>\n The discussions in Florida come after the United States lifted some sanctions on Russian oil earlier this week \u2014 imposed because of Moscow\u2019s 2022 invasion of Ukraine \u2014 to ease prices as war engulfed the Middle East.<\/p>\n \u201cThank you, Steve, Jared, and Josh, for a productive meeting,\u201d Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev posted on X, referring to US President Donald Trump\u2019s roving global envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump\u2019s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and White House Senior Advisor Josh Gruenbaum.<\/p>\n \u201cThe teams discussed a variety of topics and agreed to stay in touch,\u201d Witkoff posted earlier.<\/p>\n Trump said this week that Putin, to whom he spoke on Monday, wanted to be \u201chelpful\u201d in relation to the Middle East war.<\/p>\n Dmitriev said after the Florida meeting that Washington was \u201cbeginning to better understand\u201d the importance of Russian oil.<\/p>\n \u201cWe discussed promising projects that could contribute to the restoration of Russian-American relations and the current crisis on global energy markets,\u201d he wrote in a Telegram post.<\/p>\n \u201cToday, many countries, primarily the United States, are beginning to better understand the key, systemic role of Russian oil and gas in ensuring the stability of the global economy, as well as the ineffectiveness and destructive nature of sanctions against Russia.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n