RIA Novosti said a jet allegedly linked to Donald Trump's U.S. Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, landed in Moscow on Tuesday.

U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff secured the release of Marc Fogel on an unannounced visit to Moscow. LeeAnne Lowry

A U.S. official says Secretary of State Marco Rubio is leading a delegation to Saudi Arabia for direct talks with Russian officials in the coming days to seek an end to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. The official says that also expected to take part in the talks in Riyadh is national security adviser Michael Waltz and special envoy Steve Witkoff.

WASHINGTON >> U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, on an unannounced visit to Moscow, secured the release today of Marc Fogel, an American schoolteacher detained in Russia since August 2021, the White House said.

Russia released American schoolteacher Marc Fogel on Tuesday following an unannounced visit to Moscow by U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and he was headed for a White House welcome, U.S.

White House envoy Steve Witkoff visited Moscow on Tuesday and held talks that led to the release of American teacher Marc Fogel, who was detained in Russia, White House national security adviser Mike Waltz said in a statement.

Putin has often said the 2022 peace negotiations in Istanbul could serve as a framework for peace talks with Ukraine.

Special envoy Steve Witkoff said Sunday that Russia should not necessarily be blamed for sparking the war in Ukraine — a position that aligns with President Donald Trump’s recent strikes against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as the three-year anniversary of the fighting looms.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov addressed unverified media reports that U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff had flown to Moscow on Tuesday, stating that Russian authorities had no plans for any contact with the Trump administration member.

The aircraft, which is owned by a key Donald Trump ally, landed in Moscow amid speculation in Russia that the new administration could be seeking a US-led deal to end the war in Ukraine

As U.S.-Russian talks on ending the war in Ukraine kicked off in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 18, Keith Kellogg, U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy for Russia and Ukraine, appears to have been partially sidelined from the negotiations.