The Kremlin has criticised new peace proposals to end the war in Ukraine after US envoy Steve Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg on Wednesday, warning there was little "substance" in the Ukrainian and European proposals, The Guardian's Ukraine war briefing reported.
Source: The Guardian via BytesEU
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters that Witkoff briefed Putin on "some new aspects in the approaches of the Europeans and Kyiv" from the Oslo meeting, adding that "there wasn't really much substance in them". Witkoff had met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders in Oslo a day earlier, in a meeting aimed at smoothing over a rift between Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump.
Ready in principle for mid-November talks
Ushakov said Russia was "in principle, ready to resume" trilateral talks in mid-November — after the US midterm elections — and that the Kremlin wanted them to focus on postwar security, with Abu Dhabi mentioned in Russian reporting as a possible venue. Zelenskyy said Kyiv backed resuming trilateral talks as soon as possible.
Source: QNC News
Witkoff said his talks with Putin were "constructive" but that "there is still important work left to do", and that discussions would continue between the US, Ukraine and Russia at the technical level. Trump, despite Moscow's lukewarm response, claimed it was "the closest we've been" to ending the war.
The St Petersburg meeting, which lasted nearly three hours according to QNC News, also produced one concrete development: Russia released US citizen Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old former teacher captured in 2022, during Witkoff's visit — a release Trump said required no "swap". Analysts noted the release does not signal agreement on the war itself, and fighting continued, with mutual Russia-Ukraine attacks reported after Witkoff's departure.