Russia-Ukraine peace talks remain “theoretically possible”, Kremlin officials have said after US special envoy Steve Witkoff met Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg.
Russian officials said progress would depend on Ukraine making “necessary decisions”, warning that the situation would become worse if Kyiv failed to do so. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying Moscow would study proposals brought by Mr Witkoff, but that discussions would take time.
The meeting produced no indication that Russia had softened its position. Officials said beforehand that Moscow’s demands remained unchanged, while footage of the opening showed Mr Witkoff saying he hoped to discuss restarting trilateral negotiations involving Russia, the United States and Ukraine.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said such a meeting between himself, Donald Trump and Mr Putin would be the best way to resolve the war. But the Ukrainian president rejected any settlement drawn up by China, Russia and the US without Kyiv’s participation.
“Don’t talk about us without us,” Mr Zelenskyy told Fox News. He also said any agreement to end the war would have to be approved by Ukraine’s parliament.
Witkoff discusses proposals with Putin
Mr Witkoff’s talks in Russia followed a meeting with Mr Zelenskyy in Oslo on Tuesday. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described that discussion as “positive” and said the envoy would take ideas from the Ukrainian side to Moscow in an effort to “make some progress”.
Norway’s prime minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, said Mr Witkoff was expected to return to Oslo for further consultations with European officials. He told Norwegian broadcaster NRK: “I think we may have entered a phase now where the Russians are also looking for opportunities for diplomacy.”
Mr Zelenskyy, who remained in Oslo on Wednesday, said much depended on whether the US delegation heard anything new from Russia during the visit.
During the meeting in St Petersburg, Mr Witkoff and Mr Putin confirmed the release of Stephen Hubbard, a US citizen who had been held in a Russian jail for more than four years. Mr Trump said the release required no prisoner exchange, but claimed it would not have happened had the US not prevented new sanctions against Moscow from taking effect the previous week.
Russian state media also reported that officials had described a possible meeting between Mr Trump, Mr Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The idea has been raised by the White House, but Ukrainian officials have objected to any process that would exclude them from discussions about their own country.
The diplomacy follows weeks of tension between Washington and Kyiv. Mr Trump has criticised Ukraine’s continued attacks on Russian oil infrastructure in response to Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy and civilian sites.
Earlier this month, the US president announced an “energy ceasefire”, saying both sides had agreed to stop attacking energy infrastructure. Russia later launched missile strikes on Ukrainian refineries and other locations, and neither side confirmed that a truce had been agreed.
Mr Zelenskyy also criticised a deal announced by Mr Trump on October 10 under which Moscow would release millions of tons of diesel fuel to the US over several months. Russian state media said the first shipment had been sent on Wednesday.
After his Oslo meeting with Mr Witkoff, Mr Zelenskyy thanked Washington for restoring intelligence sharing on Russian strikes. He said early warnings of ballistic missile attacks were “very, very important for our people, for children, adults, civilians”.
He added that Ukraine’s access to the Starshield satellite network remained “limited”, although Mr Rubio was working to restore full access.
