US to offer Putin talks with Zelenskyy and Trump

Steve Witkoff is due to fly to St. Petersburg the day after the talks to meet Russian leadership. The visit could open the way to a leaders-level meeting that would help move efforts to end the war in Ukraine forward. According to Politico Europe, the United States is preparing to offer Russian President Vladimir Putin face-to-face talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump.

What Støre said after the talks

Støre told reporters after the meeting that the talks had been good and constructive. He described them as necessary after the events of the past week. In St. Petersburg, Witkoff will exchange ideas from this meeting and discuss proposals that European and American colleagues have been working on. Støre said this could possibly pave the way for a meeting at leaders' level.

Earlier attempts

Previous attempts to get Putin to meet Zelenskyy in person have fallen flat. The Kremlin recently insisted that such a meeting could take place only in Moscow.

Zelenskyy's position

Zelenskyy told a press conference that the day had been positive. He stressed that questions about the future of Ukrainian territory could be discussed only by leaders. He also said any peace settlement would require genuine security guarantees. A deal would be acceptable to Ukraine only if Ukraine itself is involved in designing it.

The source does not say whether Russia has yet responded to the prospective offer.