Witkoff takes Oslo proposals to Putin as Russia frees Stephen Hubbard
Steve Witkoff met Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg and proposed restarting talks involving the United States, Russia and Ukraine. Russia released detained American Stephen Hubbard as the meeting began. The encounter followed Witkoff’s Oslo discussions with Ukrainian and European leaders; Moscow had not announced acceptance of renewed trilateral negotiations.
Geopolitics··Evening
Witkoff proposes renewed three-party negotiations
US special envoy Steve Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg on October 21 and raised restarting negotiations involving the United States, Russia and Ukraine. Russia released detained American Stephen Hubbard as the encounter began. Witkoff wanted technical teams to discuss the next steps towards a settlement, following his discussions with Ukrainian and European leaders in Norway the previous day.[1], [2]
Putin thanked Donald Trump and Witkoff for efforts to end the war. This was Witkoff’s ninth face-to-face meeting with the Russian leader. Putin had not publicly accepted the proposals for renewed trilateral talks; no peace terms accepted by Ukraine were announced.[1]
Hubbard leaves Russian detention
Hubbard, a retired teacher aged 74, had been sentenced to almost seven years in a Russian penal colony in 2024. Russian authorities accused him of serving in a defence unit in Izyum, eastern Ukraine, where he was captured after the full-scale invasion began in 2022. That account of military service remains a Russian allegation. The US State Department had classified him as wrongfully detained.[2]
Putin said Hubbard had been taken to Pulkovo Airport. Trump subsequently said he was travelling home, that no prisoner exchange had been needed and that he had personally sought the release the previous week. CBS News, the BBC’s US partner, said Hubbard was in poor health and expected to receive treatment in Texas. Witkoff also conveyed Trump’s thanks for the agreement to resume imports of Russian diesel.[2]
Oslo contacts precede the St Petersburg meeting
Witkoff had described the Oslo discussions with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as productive. Norway and Finland’s leaders and European Union and NATO representatives also attended. Zelensky said important American intelligence sharing had resumed. Putin separately offered assistance on Iran, citing Russia’s longstanding ties with Tehran, and fertiliser supplies for American farmers. He also wanted to discuss a possible meeting with Trump in China the following month. Russia and Ukraine remained divided over settlement terms.[1]
