Witkoff Arrives in St. Petersburg for Putin Talks

U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff met Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg with fresh proposals to end the war in Ukraine, after talks in Oslo with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European and NATO representatives. The Oslo discussions made progress toward a framework addressing Ukraine’s security guarantees, postwar recovery and European security; Witkoff urged Putin to resume trilateral negotiations with Ukraine and the United States. Moscow said a negotiated settlement was theoretically possible but gave no sign it would soften its demands, and Russian officials warned Ukraine it would face worse conditions if it did not make what they called necessary decisions. The meetings came amid concern in Kyiv and among allies about U.S. pressure on Ukraine and disruptions to intelligence sharing and satellite communications. Russia released 74-year-old U.S. citizen Stephen Hubbard, which President Donald Trump said did not involve a prisoner swap. The discussions also covered U.S.-Russia economic ties, including Russian diesel exports, and the possibility of a Trump-Putin meeting in China.