ST PETERSBURG, October 21 (Aalimi Nation) – United States special envoy Steve Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg on Wednesday, in the latest attempt by Washington to find a path to ending the war in Ukraine. The Witkoff Putin meeting took place at the Constantine Palace and was the envoy's ninth in-person encounter with the Russian leader, according to accounts of the talks.
Presidential aide Yuri Ushakov and special envoy Kirill Dmitriev were also present. Witkoff said at the start of the meeting that he hoped to discuss resuming trilateral talks among the United States, Russia and Ukraine, so that technical teams could work on next steps towards a settlement.
A goodwill gesture at the start
The talks opened with Russia releasing Stephen Hubbard, a retired American teacher who had been held in the country since 2022. Putin thanked President Donald Trump and Witkoff for their efforts to end the war, according to accounts of the meeting.
Putin also offered Russia's help in dealing with Iran, pointing to Moscow's long relationship with Tehran, and said Russia could supply large quantities of fertiliser to American farmers. He raised the prospect of a possible meeting with Trump in China next month; the Kremlin has suggested Chinese President Xi Jinping could attend.
Oslo talks the day before
On Tuesday, Witkoff met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders in Oslo. The prime ministers of Norway and Finland took part, along with representatives of the European Union and NATO. Witkoff described the discussions as productive and said there was "some degree of momentum". A US official said Ukraine had brought forward new ideas and proposals, and that the Russia visit was meant to test whether a new peace plan could serve as a basis for negotiations.
Witkoff said he would brief Putin on what was discussed in Oslo. Zelenskyy said after the meeting that "very, very important" intelligence support from the United States had been restored.
Gaps remain
Russia and Ukraine remain far apart on the terms of any peace deal, and there was no sign of an imminent breakthrough. Relations between Washington and Kyiv have been strained since Trump announced a diesel export deal with Russia earlier this month. Zelenskyy has also accused the United States of slowing Starshield, a military-grade satellite internet service important to Ukraine's operations. Trump has said he was not responsible. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that Washington had not withdrawn Kyiv's access to Starlink.
Fighting continues
The diplomacy came as cross-border attacks continued. Governor Yegor Kovalchuk of Russia's Bryansk region said at least one person was killed and two wounded in a Ukrainian drone attack. Ukraine's Emergency Service said two people were killed in a Russian strike on a high-rise building in Kyiv's Sviatoshynskyi district.
What happens next
Neither side had announced the outcome of the St Petersburg talks at the time of writing. The key questions are whether Moscow agrees to resume the three-way format Witkoff has proposed, and whether Kyiv and Moscow will send technical teams to discuss concrete terms. A possible Trump meeting in China next month, which Putin wants to discuss, remains unconfirmed.
