Russia is willing to return to three-way negotiations with the United States and Ukraine on ending the war, the Kremlin said on Wednesday after Vladimir Putin hosted US envoy Steve Witkoff in Saint Petersburg. However, it complained that recent Ukrainian and European proposals lacked "substance".
The talks, which lasted more than three hours in Putin's home city, coincided with the release of Stephen Hubbard, a retired American teacher jailed in Russia for allegedly fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine. Witkoff announced the release during the meeting.
The Kremlin also said preparations were under way for a summit in the Chinese city of Shenzhen next month between Putin, US President Donald Trump and China's Xi Jinping, describing it as "the first such meeting in history."
Witkoff said talks were "constructive" but that "important work" remained, as the Kremlin downplayed new Ukrainian and European approaches to ending the conflict.
"Discussions were constructive, and will continue with trilateral talks between the United States, Russia, and Ukraine at the technical level," Witkoff said on social media.
"While there is still important work left to do, President Trump remains committed to seeing this war end."
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The US envoy, who has made several unsuccessful trips to Russia in pursuit of a settlement, arrived in Saint Petersburg a day after what he called a "productive" meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Norway.
He told Putin he saw "some degree of momentum" in the US-led talks.
Diesel deal angers Kyiv and Europe
Witkoff also told Putin that Washington was "grateful" for a recent diesel deal, under which US sanctions on Moscow were eased to allow Russian fuel to flow to the United States.
The arrangement has provoked outrage in Ukraine and across Europe. It is widely seen as an attempt to bring down fuel prices for American consumers ahead of next month's midterm elections, which are expected to be difficult for Trump's Republican Party.
The deal is one of several steps by the Trump administration seen as favourable to Moscow, at a time of growing tension between Washington and Kyiv.
Witkoff said the US was interested in further "business and economic cooperation" with Russia once the war ends. "We even talk about it now openly with the Ukrainians to give them some sort of sense about what the possibilities will be when this whole conflict is over," he said.
Hubbard freed without prisoner swap
Hubbard was first imprisoned by Russia in 2022 on charges that Hostage Aid Worldwide, a hostage advocacy group, has called bogus. He was sentenced to nearly seven years in prison following a closed-door trial in 2024.
Russian prosecutors accused him of joining the Ukrainian military after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022 and fighting alongside Ukrainian forces until his capture two months later.
The Biden administration had classified Hubbard as wrongfully detained.
He is the second American released by Russia in roughly two months, following the release in August of former US Marine Robert Gilman, who had been seriously ill and was jailed on contested charges of assaulting a police officer.
His release coincided with Witkoff's visit and came as Trump has taken several steps favourable to Moscow, amid growing tensions between Washington and Kyiv.
In an open letter to Trump published by Hostage Aid Worldwide in August, Hubbard's sister, Patricia Hubbard Fox, praised the president but also claimed her brother had endured "constant beatings, torture and starvation" while in detention.
