MOSCOW — US special envoy Steve Witkoff held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on Wednesday aimed at advancing proposals to end the war in Ukraine and create a pathway to broader negotiations.
The talks on Wednesday morning came off the back of Witkoff’s Tuesday summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Oslo, Norway.
Witkoff said in televised remarks at the start of the three-hour meeting with Putin that he hoped to discuss the resumption of the trilateral talks involving the US, Russia and Ukraine that would allow the technical teams to discuss the next steps toward a peace settlement. He said discussing the outcomes of that “productive” Oslo summit was also on the 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 envoy said.
Putin thanked Trump and Witkoff for their efforts to end the war.
Witkoff implored Putin to consider resuming trilateral Russia-US-Ukraine talks, where technical issues could be discussed, he said in the meeting.
Putin expressed interest in the topic of restoring economic cooperation with the United States and the possibility of a meeting with China to discuss Ukraine.
A key outcome of the meeting was Witkoff announcing that Russia has released 74-year-old American prisoner Stephen Hubbard, who has been detained in the country for more than four years.
Witkoff’s meetings suggested leaders are keen to bring new momentum to US-led peace efforts, more than 4 ½ years after Russia’s army invaded. Efforts by the Trump administration since early last year to end the war have made no significant progress, and there was no suggestion of an imminent breakthrough.
Russia and Ukraine are still far apart in their terms for a settlement, as their armies remain locked on the battlefield and they pummel each other with daily long-range strikes.
However, Finnish President Alexander Stubb said late Tuesday that the Oslo meeting, which he attended, “made genuine progress.”
Zelensky said freezing the conflict in Ukraine was the “minimum” required from Russia to bring about an end to the war.
“Right now, we have to freeze, and I think this is (the) real way to end this war,” Zelensky said in an interview broadcast Wednesday on Fox News.
Witkoff and Putin met at St. Petersburg’s Constantine Palace, with Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev and Putin’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov also at the table. Witkoff said Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner would join the discussion via a video link.
Witkoff said he would inform Putin about Tuesday’s talks in Oslo, which he described as “productive,” adding that “there is some degree of momentum.”
He thanked Putin for lifting Russia’s ban on diesel exports, which angered some US lawmakers, adding that it would help reduce prices for US farmers and truckers.
Putin said he was ready to discuss prospects for the restoration of U.S.-Russian economic ties, adding that he is also prepared to discuss the U.S.-led conflict with Iran. Moscow is ready to use its special relationship with Tehran to help bring peace, he said.
Putin was also due to meet Wednesday with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who was in St. Petersburg meeting with other Russian top officials, the Kremlin said.
Witkoff planned to return to Oslo for more consultations after his trip to Russia, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said.
“I think we may have entered a phase now where the Russians are also looking for opportunities for diplomacy,” Støre told Norwegian broadcaster NRK on Wednesday.
Zelensky was still in Oslo on Wednesday, where he visited Norway’s Parliament and met with lawmakers.
Witkoff appeared to be making another attempt at overcoming hurdles that have kept a deal out of reach.
Zelensky said Tuesday that on the agenda were future security guarantees for Ukraine, the fate of occupied territories, postwar reconstruction, and the possibility of a ceasefire.
Overnight Russian attacks in Kyiv left three people dead and 12 injured, while 10 residential buildings were damaged, the city’s military administration said.
Energy facilities were targeted in Kyiv and three other cities in Russian attacks early Wednesday, Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi said. Outside the eastern city of Kharkiv, two people died and 11 were wounded when drones exploded in a residential area, he said.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that its forces overnight struck a warehouse, an electrical substation and a bulk carrier at sea that was headed to the Ukrainian port of Odesa.
Source: Saudi Gazette