President Vladimir Putin received Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump's special envoy, in St. Petersburg on Wednesday for talks on the war in Ukraine, according to VG. The meeting ran roughly three hours, starting around 11:00, and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed to reporters that it had ended.
Witkoff had landed in the city that morning and was photographed at about 08:30 alongside Kirill Dmitriev, who heads Russia's investment fund. The two discussed the Oslo talks and the war, and Russia pledged the release of an American prisoner. Moscow also turned down Trump's demand for an energy truce.
Why it matters
The encounter produced a rare mix of signals: an opening toward renewed negotiations alongside a flat refusal of one of Washington's central requests. Putin said Russia would take part in three-way meetings on the Ukraine war in mid-November, a development Witkoff said Trump would welcome. At the same time, Peskov told reporters that Russia "needs peace, not a ceasefire," restating Moscow's rejection of an energy truce.
Both sides also signalled interest in reviving economic ties, a theme that ran through the day's statements and may matter more to Washington's domestic politics than to the battlefield.
A prisoner freed and a diesel shipment promised
Putin told Witkoff that American citizen Stephen Hubbard had been released. The retired teacher had spent four years in Russian custody and was at Pulkovo airport in St. Petersburg, according to the Russian president. Witkoff thanked him for the decision.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that Washington gave nothing in return, describing the release as an unprecedented step by Russia made out of respect for him.
On the economic side, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said Russia intends to send a tanker carrying 40,000 tonnes of diesel to the United States as early as Thursday, with talks on supply agreements in their final stage. Witkoff conveyed Trump's thanks for the decision, and Putin claimed the move had already helped push world market prices down by 5–6 percent.
Putin also raised the prospect of Russian fertiliser exports to the American market, and Tass reported after the meeting that the two men discussed the possibility of large-scale joint economic projects between the countries.
The context, as VG lays out, is that diesel and fertiliser have grown more expensive amid the conflict between the US and Israel on one side and Iran on the other, along with the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Rising prices, particularly for American farmers, have become a political problem for Trump ahead of November's midterm elections. Trump has largely blamed Ukraine for climbing diesel costs and has demanded that Kyiv stop striking Russian oil refineries. Experts cited by VG are doubtful that Russian diesel will move price levels much.
The Oslo stopover and a cool reception for Europe
Witkoff returned to Norway by around 16:45, where a further meeting with Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre was scheduled at Gardermoen. The purpose of the stop was for Støre to receive a summary of how the talks had gone; he emerged from the American aircraft almost an hour and a half later.
Putin thanked Trump for his efforts to end the war and asked Witkoff about the results of the conversations in Norway, according to VG. Witkoff said there was potential for a settlement and that he had brought documents outlining possible ways forward.
The Kremlin also criticised statements by European leaders. Peskov said that Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, who on Monday reaffirmed European support for Ukraine, had not made a "constructive contribution" to resolving the war.
Peskov added that the war cannot end without Ukrainian participation and that someone in Kyiv must take a "responsible decision," without specifying what that would mean. Russia's position has until now been maximalist, requiring Ukraine to concede to all of its demands.
Yuri Ushakov, another Putin adviser, described the meeting as an ordinary, pre-arranged encounter agreed several days in advance and said it had been no secret to those preparing it.
Wednesday morning had been busy for Ushakov and Peskov, who set out the Russian line as Witkoff's plane landed.
What to watch is whether the mid-November three-way format materialises and whether the diesel cargo actually sails on Thursday.
