Witkoff Meets Putin as US Pushes for Ukraine Peace Talks
Sandego.net – US special envoy Steve Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on Wednesday as Washington sought to move competing proposals on the war in Ukraine toward a broader negotiating process.
The meeting followed Witkoff’s talks a day earlier with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Oslo. During the opening moments of the St. Petersburg discussions, Witkoff said the recent meeting in Norway had been productive and could help create fresh momentum.
“I think there’s some degree of momentum,” Witkoff said, expressing hope that the talks could move the peace process forward.
Witkoff urged Putin to consider restarting trilateral discussions involving Russia, the United States and Ukraine. Such talks could provide a forum for addressing technical questions while laying the groundwork for direct political negotiations. The broader US objective is to bring together ideas discussed with Ukraine and European partners, test them with Moscow and establish a route toward wider multilateral engagement.
Putin raised the possibility of restoring elements of economic cooperation between Russia and the United States. He also discussed the prospect of a meeting involving China focused on Ukraine. The conversation extended beyond the war itself, covering potential Russian fertilizer exports to the United States and Russia’s possible role in efforts connected to the conflict in Iran.
American Prisoner Set for Release
One immediate development from the meeting was Witkoff’s announcement that Russia would release Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old American who has been held in the country for more than four years. Hubbard’s case featured alongside the diplomatic agenda as Putin, Witkoff and interpreters spoke around a large round table.
The planned release adds a humanitarian outcome to a meeting otherwise dominated by the difficult task of narrowing differences over the terms for ending the war. Prisoner cases have frequently remained separate from wider diplomatic disputes, but their resolution can help demonstrate whether direct contact is producing practical results.
Ukraine and US Discuss Peace Framework
Before traveling to Russia, Witkoff met Zelensky in Norway as US and Ukrainian officials worked through possible next steps. A US official said the discussions produced meaningful progress, with Ukraine presenting new proposals that received detailed consideration.
The conversations addressed the outline of a comprehensive peace framework. Key subjects included long-term guarantees intended to protect Ukraine after the war, plans for economic recovery and prosperity, and a wider European security arrangement aimed at supporting durable stability.
Ukraine and its partners maintained that any agreement must include reliable safeguards against another Russian invasion. Kyiv also continues to reject demands that it formally surrender territory as a condition for peace.
Russia has called for Ukraine to give up the entire Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, much of which is already controlled by Russian forces. Moscow has also demanded that Ukraine sharply reduce the size of its military and commit never to join NATO. Those positions remain among the largest obstacles to a negotiated settlement.
“We have some clear ideas on how to get to peace,” Zelensky said Tuesday. “Let’s see what Putin has to say.”
Zelensky said Ukraine was aligned with its European partners and wanted US representatives to present those ideas to Russia. For Kyiv, security commitments are not a secondary issue: they are central to whether any ceasefire or peace agreement can endure after fighting stops.
Diplomatic Optimism Meets Russian Resistance
The US assessment of the Oslo discussions was notably positive. Officials described the American and Ukrainian teams as working closely and sharing an interest in finding workable ways to end the conflict, despite the strained public relationship between Zelensky and US President Donald Trump.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov offered a more guarded view before Witkoff’s meeting with Putin. He said Moscow would listen to the envoy’s proposals but would not make what he characterized as political concessions. Lavrov also said Russia did not expect a dramatic breakthrough and portrayed Washington as a long-term rival.
That contrast highlights the challenge facing the diplomatic effort. Ukraine, the United States and European governments may develop plans for security, reconstruction and negotiations, but progress ultimately depends on whether Russia is prepared to treat those proposals as a serious basis for discussion.
A European official in Oslo emphasized that the central problem is less about drafting plans than securing meaningful Russian engagement with them. The next phase of diplomacy will therefore test whether the St. Petersburg meeting can turn stated interest in negotiations into a process involving all sides.
Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, was expected to participate remotely after falling ill with the flu. His involvement reflects the continuing role of senior US figures in efforts to find a political route out of the war.
For now, the release of Hubbard represents a concrete result, while the larger peace effort remains unresolved. The key question is whether discussions with Putin can lead to renewed trilateral talks and eventually address the core disputes over territory, Ukraine’s future military posture and the security structure of postwar Europe.
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