US special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived on Wednesday in St Petersburg, Russia's second-largest city, where he is set to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin for talks aimed at resolving the war in Ukraine, two sources familiar with the visit told Reuters.

Witkoff will hold the talks a day after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Oslo. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Witkoff's meeting with Zelenskiy was positive and that Witkoff would share the results with Russia, Reuters reported.

According to a US official cited by Axios, Witkoff will present Putin with an updated proposal to end the war, and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and adviser, will participate in the meeting remotely. The official said the White House hopes Putin will show greater willingness to compromise after Trump agreed to lift sanctions on Russian diesel sales and adopted other measures welcomed by Moscow, Axios reported via LaPresse.

The Oslo talks involved Zelenskiy, the leaders of Norway and Finland, and representatives of France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, the European Union and NATO, according to the US official cited by Axios. Ukraine presented new ideas and proposals that were discussed in detail, the official said, adding that the parties made significant progress and achieved strong operational alignment on next steps. Zelenskiy said the next step should be a trilateral meeting between himself, Putin and Trump — a format Russia has so far rejected, Axios reported.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow is willing to listen to new US proposals about Ukraine but does not expect any miracle from Washington, according to reporting from the Oslo talks carried by AAP. Separately, Trump has urged Ukraine to settle with Russia, telling reporters that Kyiv has to want to settle the war — remarks Zelenskiy has criticised. No outcome from the St Petersburg meeting had been announced when this report was published. Sources: Reuters (Oct 21); Axios via LaPresse (Oct 21); AAP (Oct 21).