U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Constantine Palace in St. Petersburg on Wednesday, the ninth such meeting, in the latest push to find a basis for ending the war in Ukraine, Reuters reported.
The meeting carried a humanitarian headline alongside the diplomacy: Russia freed Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired American teacher detained in Izyum in April 2022 and later sentenced in a closed trial to six years and ten months. The United States had designated Hubbard wrongfully detained, a finding his family and lawyer have supported while denying the allegations against him.
According to the reporting, Putin thanked Donald Trump and signalled interest in restoring economic ties, while Witkoff spoke of a ceasefire basis and the possibility of trilateral talks following discussions in Oslo on October 20 that a U.S. official described as constructive. Jared Kushner joined part of the diplomacy remotely.
Hubbard's health and travel arrangements were handled separately from the negotiating party, with CBS reporting via the New York Post that he was expected to receive treatment in Texas. For Washington, the release removes one long-running irritant from the table; whether it moves the far harder questions of territory and security guarantees is the test the next rounds will face.
