Witkoff after three-hour meeting with Putin: Constructive dialogue will continue with US-Russia-Ukraine trilateral talks

U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said diplomatic progress had been made in efforts to mediate the conflict between Moscow and Kyiv following a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg. He also stressed that the parties still have work to do to draft a peace agreement.

In a post on the X platform, Witkoff said President Donald Trump remains committed to ending the war and achieving a comprehensive and lasting peace that will ensure prosperity and security for future generations. According to him, the “constructive” talks will be followed by trilateral technical discussions between the United States, Russia and Ukraine.

Witkoff said that, together with Jared Kushner, he held meetings with Russian, Ukrainian and European representatives in Oslo and St. Petersburg as part of President Trump’s mission to end the war.

He explained that the meeting with Putin in St. Petersburg was intended to build on the progress made in Oslo with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and to examine a possible framework for peace. During the meeting, Witkoff also said he thanked the Russian president for the release of U.S. citizen Steven Hubbard, who was able to return to his family.

The meeting between Vladimir Putin and Steve Witkoff lasted three hours.

Russian news agencies reported that Putin expressed gratitude to U.S. President Donald Trump for his efforts to resolve the conflict. The Kremlin chief also said that Russia is interested in restoring economic relations with the United States.

According to Witkoff, there is a basis for establishing a ceasefire in Ukraine. The U.S. envoy said he hoped Putin would support the resumption of negotiations between Russia, Ukraine and the United States.

“I hope that today we will have a constructive conversation about the possibility of returning to trilateral talks between Ukraine, Russia and the United States. Even if we do not reach a solution today, discussing and considering the next step would be important, as people are waiting to hear about it,” Witkoff told President Putin.