Europe
Witkoff meets Putin in St. Petersburg: Kremlin ready “in principle” for talks as Russia frees American teacher Hubbard
After a meeting of more than three hours at the Konstantin Palace, Moscow says it is ready to return to three-way negotiations with the U.S. and Ukraine, while Trump says peace is “closer than ever.”
By ANN Newsroom · Newsroom
October 21, 2026, 19:10 · Updated 12:23 · 2 min read
In brief
- U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff met Wednesday with Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg in talks that lasted more than three hours.
- The Kremlin said Russia is ready “in principle” to resume three-way talks with the U.S. and Ukraine, possibly in mid-November.
- In a goodwill gesture, Moscow freed retired American teacher Stephen Hubbard, who had been sentenced to nearly seven years in prison.
President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, held a meeting of more than three hours on Wednesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Konstantin Palace in St. Petersburg. The visit came just a day after his meeting in Norway with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which Witkoff had described as “productive.”
After the talks, the Kremlin said Moscow is ready “in principle” to return to three-way negotiations with the United States and Ukraine. According to reports, a new round could be held in mid-November, after the U.S. midterm elections. However, the Russian side said the latest Ukrainian and European proposals have little “substance.”
The release of Stephen Hubbard
During the visit, Russia released Stephen Hubbard, a retired American teacher imprisoned since 2022. Russian prosecutors had accused him of joining Ukrainian forces after the February 2022 invasion, charges he denies. After a closed-door trial in 2024, he was sentenced to nearly seven years in prison. The Biden administration had classified him as wrongfully detained. The release came without a prisoner swap, and Hubbard is the second American Moscow has freed in about two months.
Witkoff called the talks “constructive” but acknowledged that “important work” remains to be done. He told Putin he sees “some momentum” and thanked him for the deal allowing Russian diesel fuel to be sold in the U.S., a step that has angered Kyiv and several European governments.
Trump: Closer than ever
President Trump said the parties are now probably “closer than ever” to ending the war, although no concrete breakthrough was announced. He postponed a new round of sanctions against Russia, arguing that this helped secure Hubbard’s release. The Kremlin also said a meeting between Putin, Trump and Xi Jinping is being prepared for next month in Shenzhen, China.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha responded on social media, warning that “appeasing” the aggressor does not stop the war and that only strength can do so, while Zelensky said Kyiv wants a meeting as soon as possible.
