Wednesday, Putin met U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff in Saint Petersburg and released Stephen Hubbard, a 70‑year‑old retired English teacher.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had just met Witkoff in Oslo to ease a rift with President Trump, while Trump’s son‑in‑law Jared Kushner joined the talks remotely.
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told AFP that Russia was "in principle, ready," to resume the trilateral talks in mid‑November after the U.S. midterm elections, insisting the focus should be on post‑war security.
Trump, who promised to end the war in 24 hours, hailed the meeting as the closest the U.S. has come to ending the conflict, and praised Putin as a "humanitarian" for freeing Hubbard.
The U.S. also secured a diesel deal with Russia, sparking outrage in Kyiv and Europe, and Trump delayed sanctions on Russian war assets to secure Hubbard’s release.
A summit between Putin, Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping is slated for next month in Shenzhen, the first such meeting in history, while the technical stage of the trilateral talks is set to resume after the midterms.