ST. PETERSBURG, Russia, October 21 (ANI) — U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff held high-stakes talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday in St. Petersburg to advance proposals to end the war in Ukraine and establish a path toward broader negotiations.
According to CNN, the diplomatic outreach followed Witkoff’s meeting Tuesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Norway. Video footage captured the U.S. envoy confirming that reviewing the outcomes of the “productive” Oslo summit remained central to Wednesday’s agenda.
“I think there’s some degree of momentum, and I hope that this today can be another step forward in the peace process and discussing how we resolve the Ukrainian conflict,” the Trump administration envoy said.
During the meeting, Witkoff also urged Putin to consider resuming trilateral talks involving Russia, the United States and Ukraine to address outstanding technical issues. Putin expressed interest in restoring economic cooperation with the United States, along with the prospect of involving China in discussions concerning Ukraine.
A significant development from the diplomatic engagement was Witkoff’s announcement that Moscow had agreed to release 74-year-old American prisoner Stephen Hubbard, who had been detained in Russia for more than four years.
Seated around a large round table with translators, Putin and Witkoff discussed a broad agenda that included potential Russian assistance in resolving the war in Iran, possible Russian fertilizer exports to the United States and Hubbard’s release. The talks subsequently continued behind closed doors, with Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and a participant in peace mediation efforts, joining remotely because he was suffering from the flu.
According to a U.S. official cited by CNN, Washington and Kyiv made “meaningful progress” during Tuesday’s talks in Norway. Ukrainian delegates reportedly presented new proposals that underwent detailed evaluation, leaving both administrations in “strong alignment” on the next steps.
“Discussions covered key elements of a comprehensive peace framework, including long-term security guarantees for Ukraine, a post-war economic and prosperity plan, and a broader European security architecture designed to create lasting stability,” the U.S. official said.
Kyiv and its Western allies reaffirmed their firm positions on any future peace negotiations, emphasizing the need for security guarantees to deter renewed Russian incursions and rejecting any surrender of Ukrainian sovereign territory.
Moscow, meanwhile, has continued to demand that Ukraine surrender the entire eastern Donbas region, much of which is under Russian occupation, significantly reduce its armed forces and formally renounce any future membership in NATO.
“We have some clear ideas on how to get to peace, and we are united with our European partners in this effort. And we want the Americans to take these ideas to the Russians,” Zelenskyy said Tuesday. “Let’s see what Putin has to say.”
“Much depends on whether the American side will hear something new from Russia today, about peace, rather than the continuation of the war,” Zelenskyy said Wednesday after consultations with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.
Reflecting on the preceding discussions with Ukrainian officials, the U.S. official emphasized that the negotiating teams shared a commitment to finding practical solutions to end the war, despite reported tensions between Zelenskyy and Trump.
“The goal is to build on the progress made with Ukraine and Europe, discuss the proposals with Russia, and create a pathway toward direct trilateral and broader multilateral negotiations,” the official added.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov adopted a cautious stance Tuesday, saying Moscow would evaluate Witkoff’s proposals while explicitly ruling out “political concessions.” According to Russian state news agency TASS, Lavrov said Moscow did “not expect a miracle” and anticipated that Washington would remain a rival to Russia “at best.”
Commenting on the diplomatic impasse, a European official in Oslo told CNN, “I think plans, or lack of, isn’t as much of a problem as getting Russia to treat any plan seriously.” (ANI)
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