NEW YORK, February 22. /TASS/. Special US Envoy Steve Witkoff has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin was always straight with him during their meetings.

"He’s never been anything other than straight with me, and I say that and I get attacked, but that’s an accurate statement. He’s told me that this is what his red lines are," Witkoff said in an interview with the Fox News TV channel.

He indicated that it was important for him to understand Russia’s position. "I got attacked for going to meet him eight times. How would you make a deal with someone on the other side unless you knew where the other person was coming from? I needed to understand what his motivations were, his goals and so forth. And I actually think that a lot of those meetings now are becoming very relevant," Witkoff said.

"So I think those meetings were important, and hopefully we’re going to consummate this whole thing," the official noted.