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Putin begins talks with US envoy Witkoff in St. Petersburg
Russian President Vladimir Putin began talks with US special envoy Steve Witkoff at the Konstantinovsky Palace near St. Petersburg on Oct. 21. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said the war in Ukraine is the main topic.
Russian President Vladimir Putin began a meeting with US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff at the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna, near St. Petersburg, on Wednesday, Oct. 21. The talks started at 11:57 a.m. Moscow time, Interfax reported.
Witkoff's plane landed at Pulkovo Airport at 8:46 a.m. He was met by Kirill Dmitriev, Putin's special envoy for investment and economic cooperation, who is also taking part in the meeting.
'The main part of today's contact'
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said the Ukraine settlement is the main topic: "Negotiations on the Ukrainian conflict are, naturally, the main part of today's contact." He said the meeting was planned and had been agreed over several days.
Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who is involved in the Ukraine talks, did not travel to St. Petersburg. "Kushner, as we were told, fell ill and refrained from the trip," Ushakov said. CNN reported that Kushner may join the meeting by video link.
Ushakov also said Moscow has had no contacts with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
An updated plan after Oslo
Witkoff flew to Russia from Oslo, where he met Zelensky on Tuesday. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and European and NATO representatives also took part. A US official called the meeting "constructive," while Stubb said the Ukraine peace talks were "back on track."
Axios, citing a White House official, reported that Witkoff would present Putin with an updated plan to end the war. According to the US side, the Oslo talks covered security guarantees for Ukraine, a postwar economic plan and a broader European security architecture.
Detained Americans
According to The New York Times, Witkoff also plans to raise the case of Stephen Hubbard, a 72-year-old retired teacher accused in Russia of fighting for Ukraine as a mercenary. He is the only American held in Russia whom the State Department has officially designated as wrongfully detained.
Trump said on Oct. 20 that he had asked Putin to release Hubbard. ABC News, citing sources, reported that the administration was closing in on a deal to free several Americans. Trump also said Ukraine "has to want to settle this war" and claimed Putin was interested in signing a peace agreement.
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