Putin meets Trump envoy in St. Petersburg

Steve Witkoff brought new Ukraine peace proposals as Moscow and Washington explore restoring bilateral ties.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has held three-hour talks with US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg to discuss ending the Ukraine conflict and restoring US-Russia relations. Witkoff’s trip comes after Moscow and Washington reached a diesel deal and amid an escalating feud between Trump and Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky.

The talks began at Constantine Palace – around 20 km southwest of St. Petersburg – on Wednesday morning, with Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov and Russian investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev also attending.

Witkoff had traveled to St. Petersburg from Oslo, where on Tuesday he met Zelensky and the leaders of Norway and Finland, alongside European and NATO officials. Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who had joined the Oslo talks remotely, also participated in the St. Petersburg discussions via video link.

Opening the meeting, Putin thanked Trump for his efforts to resolve the Ukraine conflict and asked Witkoff to brief him on the outcome of the Oslo negotiations. According to an unnamed US official cited by Reuters, the Oslo discussions covered security guarantees for Ukraine, a postwar economic plan, and a broader European security architecture.

Witkoff said he wanted to present documents outlining new peace proposals and asked Putin to consider resuming trilateral negotiations involving Russia, Ukraine, and the US, potentially with technical teams working through unresolved issues.

The envoy also thanked Putin for the release of US Air Force veteran Stephen Hubbard, who had been convicted in Russia on charges of fighting for Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the move was made on “humanitarian grounds.”

The talks revolved around Russia-US economic cooperation, with Putin saying the recent agreement between the two countries on diesel supplies had already caused global diesel prices to drop by 5-6%. He announced that Russia is preparing several shipments to the US, with the first tanker carrying 40,000 tons expected to depart within two or three days.

Following the talks, Peskov called the meeting “productive,” but added that there have been no agreements on a further round of negotiations in the near future.

Speaking to reporters, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said Witkoff had briefed Putin on “new elements” in proposals put forward by Kiev and its European backers, but noted that Moscow saw little in them that could help resolve the conflict. Putin, meanwhile, outlined the battlefield situation, asserting that Russian forces hold the strategic initiative and are advancing along the front, he added.

Ushakov said Putin had expressed readiness to resume trilateral negotiations involving Russia, Ukraine, and the US in mid-November, focusing on post-conflict security arrangements.

The talks also covered the US-Iran conflict, with Putin offering Russian mediation. Ushakov added that the Russian leader had outlined practical ideas for a possible trilateral meeting with Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, although no agreement on holding such a summit was announced.

Witkoff’s visit was marred by a drone alert south of St. Petersburg as the talks were about to start. Leningrad Region Governor Aleksandr Drozdenko said the warning was issued in Luga District, around 125 km south of the Constantine Palace.

The alert followed Sunday’s unprecedented Ukrainian drone attack on St. Petersburg and the surrounding Leningrad Region. According to the Russian authorities, the strikes killed one person and injured 15, damaged residential buildings, and sparked fires at an oil terminal, oil depot, and industrial facilities.

Witkoff’s visit comes after Trump’s October 9 agreement with Putin to ease sanctions on Russian diesel sales, which the US leader said would help relieve high fuel prices for American consumers. Zelensky subsequently condemned the agreement as a “weak decision.”

Trump has also repeatedly demanded that Zelensky halt attacks on Russian oil refineries, something he has categorically refused to do. As tensions escalated, Trump suggested that Zelensky – whose presidential term expired more than two years ago – should be replaced, while multiple outlets reported that Ukrainian troops were not receiving advance warnings on Russian ballistic missile strikes and were encountering issues with Starlink communications, which are crucial for drone control. The US denied it had suspended intelligence-sharing.