Witkoff: Peace Talks to Continue as Trilateral Technical-Level Meetings
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said talks to end the war in Ukraine will go on as US-Russia-Ukraine meetings at the technical level, after he met Zelenskyy in Oslo and Putin in St Petersburg. American citizen Stephen Hubbard was also released.
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff announced on 21 October that negotiations on ending the Russian-Ukrainian war will continue as trilateral talks between the United States, Russia and Ukraine at the technical level. He made the statement after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Oslo and Russian President Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg. The announcement matters because it points to a possible resumption of negotiations following both meetings.
In a post on X, Witkoff said he met Putin to build on the progress made with Zelenskyy in Oslo and to discuss a peace framework. He described the discussions as constructive and added that US President Donald Trump remains committed to ending the war and achieving a comprehensive, durable peace.
Release of an American citizen
Witkoff also mentioned the release of US citizen Stephen Hubbard, who had been held in custody in Russia. According to reports, the St Petersburg talks began with his release. Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired teacher from Michigan, had been deemed wrongfully detained by the US State Department. Trump has said he asked Putin to free the American, and Russia reportedly demanded nothing in return.
Background
Media, citing a US official, reported that after the talks in Oslo and St Petersburg both the Ukrainian and Russian sides agreed to resume trilateral negotiations involving the US. It was also reported earlier that Witkoff called Putin a "humanitarian" during their meeting in St Petersburg.
