Putin Meets Witkoff: US Envoy Cites Progress Toward Ceasefire
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, 21 October, began a meeting with US special envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg, according to the Russian agencies Interfax and TASS. Witkoff said the talks in Oslo were productive and that there is movement.
Putin asked about the outcome of the meeting in Norway. As TASS relayed it, the American envoy said there are “developments toward achieving a ceasefire in Ukraine”. Witkoff said he hopes trilateral talks between Ukraine, the US and Russia can resume so that technical issues can be discussed, and that he brought documents with proposals for settling the war.
Thanks, economics and Iran
Putin thanked Donald Trump for his attention to ending the war. According to Putin, in their latest conversation the US president stressed the need to end the war to stop human losses. The sides also discussed prospects for economic cooperation: Putin said he is interested in restoring it, while Witkoff spoke of opportunities for developing US-Russian economic ties once fighting ends.
On Trump’s behalf, Witkoff thanked Putin for the decision on the “diesel deal”. Putin claimed that after the diesel decision prices on world markets fell by 5–6% and said Russia could increase fertiliser supplies to the US. The situation around Iran also came up: Putin said Russia is ready to help settle that conflict.
Witkoff also thanked Putin for releasing US citizen Stephen Hubbard, who Putin said was at Pulkovo airport.
Background
On 20 October talks were held in Oslo with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, US representatives and European partners. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre announced that Witkoff would travel to St. Petersburg the next day to discuss the results and the prepared proposals with the Russian leadership. According to Støre, Oslo covered Ukraine’s security, post-war recovery, territorial issues, sanctions and the European security order after the war.
Hubbard, a US citizen, was sentenced by a Moscow court in October 2024, aged 72, to 6 years and 10 months in prison on charges of fighting on Ukraine’s side. Russian prosecutors alleged he agreed to fight for Ukraine for $1,000 a month.