U.S. presidential envoy Steve Witkoff met with Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg, Russia. The first statements from the meeting are being circulated by Russian media and the Kremlin pool, reports UNN.
Details
According to Russian state media, Witkoff met with Putin on October 21.
The parties gathered for the meeting at the Konstantinovsky Palace in St. Petersburg. Putin was joined by his envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who had earlier picked Witkoff up from the airport.
According to one of the representatives of the Kremlin pool, Witkoff stated that "the talks in Oslo (with the Europeans and Zelenskyy) were promising. There has been progress." According to Trump's envoy, it is reportedly "possible to achieve a ceasefire."
According to ASTRA, Witkoff stated that "the talks in Oslo with representatives of Ukraine and Europe were constructive. There is a 'basis for bringing the war to an end.'" Witkoff reportedly hopes to resume trilateral talks involving Russia, Ukraine, and the United States.
Witkoff reportedly brought new documents containing settlement proposals. ASTRA уточнює, Witkoff brought "documents for Putin outlining the U.S. approaches to settling the war in Ukraine."
The U.S. envoy and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, as noted by the Kremlin pool, will join the talks later by phone.
According to ASTRA, Witkoff also thanked Putin on behalf of U.S. President Donald Trump for the "diesel deal." He also reportedly stated that "Russia and the United States have prospects for developing economic relations after the end of the war in Ukraine."
At the meeting with Witkoff in St. Petersburg, Putin reportedly announced the release of American Stephen Hubbard, according to Russian media; Trump's special envoy thanked him for it.
As reported by Kremlin media citing Putin's words, Hubbard is already at Pulkovo Airport.
Earlier, Donald Trump confirmed that Washington was negotiating with Moscow over the release of American teacher Stephen Hubbard, whom the Russian Armed Forces captured in the Ukrainian city of Izium in April 2022.
According to Russian media, Putin said that in his most recent conversation with him, Trump insisted on the need to end the Russian-Ukrainian war in order to avoid loss of life.
At a meeting with U.S. President's Special Representative Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg, Putin also thanked Donald Trump for his attention to settling the Russian Federation's war against Ukraine and asked about the results of the meeting in Norway.
Other statements by Putin, according to Russian media, included the following: Russia is interested in restoring economic cooperation with the United States, Putin said; Russia is ready to help resolve the conflict with Iran; the Russian Federation could supply fertilizers in large quantities to the U.S. market.
Witkoff will present Putin with an updated peace proposal - Axios21.10.26, 10:02