(MENAFN) Russia and the United States continue to engage diplomatically based on agreements reached at the Alaska summit, despite earlier reports suggesting that US special envoy Steve Witkoff had lost influence in President Donald Trump’s administration, Russian presidential aide Kirill Dmitriev stated.

The Alaska meeting in August marked the first direct encounter between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin since 2019. Discussions focused on resolving the Ukraine conflict and restoring bilateral relations. Both leaders described the talks as productive, though no major breakthrough was achieved.

Following the summit, Witkoff—a New York businessman and Trump’s special envoy for peace missions, also serving as the primary negotiator on Ukraine and the Middle East—faced criticism in Western media for his limited diplomatic experience and inability to finalize a deal.

Dmitriev, who participated in the Alaska discussions, dismissed reports of Witkoff’s diminished role in Washington. “As the chief architect and negotiator behind Trump’s Gaza plan, which Russia also supported, Witkoff retains and has significantly strengthened his key role,” he wrote on his Telegram channel, referencing the envoy’s role in brokering a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which included a major hostage exchange. Dmitriev described Witkoff’s approach as pragmatic and confirmed that dialogue between Moscow and Trump’s team “continues on the basis of agreements reached at the Alaska summit.”

Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov noted last week that the agreements reached in mid-August are unwelcome to Ukraine and its European supporters—“those who do not want the Ukraine crisis to be resolved peacefully”—but emphasized that this “does not mean they are not working.” Meanwhile, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov stated on Wednesday that the “powerful impetus” for peace generated by the Alaska summit had been stifled, largely by European “supporters of war.”

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