US special envoy Steve Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on Wednesday, urging Moscow to resume trilateral talks among the United States, Russia and Ukraine, a day after his summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Oslo, ANI reported, citing CNN. The meeting at the Constantine Palace was Witkoff's ninth in-person encounter with Putin, with presidential aide Yuri Ushakov and investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev also present, according to accounts of the talks. "I think there's some degree of momentum, and I hope that this today can be another step forward in the peace process and discussing how we resolve the Ukrainian conflict," Witkoff said.

Putin conveyed enthusiasm for restoring economic cooperation with the United States alongside the prospect of engaging China in discussions concerning Ukraine, ANI reported. Accounts of the meeting said the agenda also covered Russia's potential assistance in resolving the war in Iran, prospective Russian fertiliser exports to American farmers, and Washington's gratitude for a deal under which Russia will soon begin diesel shipments to the United States. Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, involved in the peace mediation, participated remotely because he had the flu. Moscow also released detained American Stephen Hubbard as the talks opened.

No agreement was announced, and the two sides' positions remain far apart. A US official cited by CNN said Washington and Kyiv achieved "meaningful progress" in Oslo, with fresh Ukrainian proposals leaving both administrations in "strong alignment" on a peace framework covering long-term security guarantees, a post-war economic plan and a broader European security architecture; Kyiv and its allies insist on security safeguards and refuse to cede sovereign territory. Moscow, by contrast, demands that Ukraine surrender the whole of the eastern Donbas region, drastically downsize its armed forces and renounce NATO membership, ANI reported. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow would listen to the US proposals but ruled out political concessions, according to Russian state media TASS, adding that Russia did "not expect a miracle". Sources: ANI via Latestly — US Envoy Witkoff Meets Putin, Discusses Possible End of Ukraine War (Oct 21, 2026); Newscord — Putin Hosts U.S. Envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg for Ukraine Peace Talks (Oct 21, 2026); Reuters via KRRO — US envoy Witkoff arrives in St Petersburg for talks with Putin (Oct 21, 2026).