Putin Meets US Envoy Witkoff for Three Hours, Signals Trilateral Ukraine Talks After November 10

ST. PETERSBURG — Russian President Vladimir Putin held a three-hour meeting with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff on Wednesday, emerging with the clearest signal yet that Moscow is prepared to return to the negotiating table — while also freeing an American prisoner in a gesture that instantly reshaped the diplomatic atmosphere.

According to Russian news agencies, Putin conveyed his thanks to President Donald Trump for his efforts to settle the war in Ukraine and told Witkoff that Russia was interested in restoring economic ties with the United States. Witkoff, speaking after the session, said there was a basis for a ceasefire and voiced hope that Putin would agree to resume three-way talks involving Russia, the United States and Ukraine.

Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov told reporters in a post-meeting briefing that Putin would be ready to restart trilateral Russia-U.S.-Ukraine peace talks after November 10. Ushakov added that Moscow wanted to discuss a "security framework" for both Russia and Ukraine following any end to the conflict, though he offered no details on what Russia would demand as part of such an arrangement.

A three-hour meeting and a freed prisoner

The diplomatic encounter produced an immediate humanitarian outcome. Putin announced during the televised portion of the meeting that Russia had freed Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired American schoolteacher held in Russian custody since 2022, and that Hubbard had been taken to St. Petersburg's Pulkovo airport.

"The president sends his thanks, our whole nation sends their thanks, because of Stephen Hubbard," Witkoff told Putin on camera. "Because of you he's going home to his family."

Hubbard, from Michigan, had been serving a sentence of six years and 10 months after a closed-door trial convicted him of mercenary activity. Russian prosecutors alleged he was arrested in April 2022 in the eastern Ukrainian city of Izyum while manning a Ukrainian military checkpoint, and that he had joined a territorial defense unit, received weapons and training, and had been promised $1,000 a month. Hubbard's lawyer, Martin De Luca, told Reuters his client had said the charges were false and that he was not in any combat or military unit. Washington had designated Hubbard as wrongfully detained — and as of Wednesday he was the only American prisoner in Russia carrying that designation.

Trump confirmed the release in a post on Truth Social, writing that the United States was not required to give anything in return. De Luca, in a statement, thanked Trump, Witkoff and other U.S. officials for securing the release, calling it "a dividend earned along the hard road to peace."

What Putin offered after November 10

The November 10 date sets the first firm timetable in months for a possible return to direct negotiations. The trilateral format — Russia, the United States and Ukraine at one table — has been dormant, and its revival was Witkoff's central ask on Wednesday, according to Interfax and TASS. The offer arrives against a backdrop of relentless fighting: Russia has continued pounding Ukraine's power grid with missile and drone strikes even as diplomatic shuttles crisscross Europe.

Putin also raised the prospect of a meeting with China to discuss Ukraine, and expressed interest in restoring economic cooperation with Washington — a notable opening given the recent U.S. moves to waive certain sanctions on Russia and strike a diesel exports arrangement.

Yet the fine print from Moscow remains sobering. Despite the positive tone of the post-meeting briefing, there is so far no indication that Russia has moved from its maximalist positions: Ukraine surrendering the entire eastern Donbas region, now largely under Russian occupation; a drastic reduction of Ukraine's armed forces; and a pledge never to join NATO. Russia currently controls roughly 20 percent of Ukrainian territory since launching its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Oslo: the road to Moscow

Wednesday's session was the second stop on Witkoff's shuttle this week. On Tuesday he held what officials described as a productive summit in Norway with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, alongside Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, with representatives from European governments, the European Union and NATO participating.

The Oslo discussions centered on Ukraine's security guarantees, economic recovery, sanctions and the wider European security framework, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the talks as positive, indicating Witkoff would carry the proposals to Moscow. Stubb said "genuine progress" had been made on peace proposals, while cautioning that patience would be necessary. Støre stressed that Europe must be involved in any negotiations, arguing European countries have a direct stake in the outcome.

Zelenskyy, speaking in Oslo, said Ukraine was prepared to negotiate an end to the war but stressed that Russia's continued attacks were costing civilian lives. "Of course, we are not losing this war, but we are losing people because Russia attacks," he said. The Oslo session follows weeks of diplomatic traffic that have also included a proposed summit involving Trump, Xi Jinping and Putin, as Washington probes every channel for a settlement.

No give on maximalist demands — yet

For all the forward motion in St. Petersburg, Moscow's red lines have not visibly shifted. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said before the meeting that Russia would listen to the proposals Witkoff brought, but ruled out "any political concessions" — a direct warning to those hoping the November timeline implies flexibility on territory or Ukraine's military future.

The Kremlin's framing of the promised talks as a conversation about a postwar "security framework" for both countries suggests Moscow intends to put its own security demands — including Ukraine's neutral status — at the center of any negotiation. European leaders, wary of a deal struck over their heads, have pressed for a seat at the table; Støre's insistence on European involvement in Oslo was aimed squarely at ensuring the eventual trilateral format does not become a bilateral arrangement between Washington and Moscow.

What comes next

The coming weeks will test whether the St. Petersburg opening is substance or choreography. If trilateral talks genuinely resume after November 10, they would mark the first structured Russia-U.S.-Ukraine negotiation in the current diplomatic push — and the Hubbard release gives the Trump administration a tangible early result to show for the shuttle diplomacy.

Still, the gulf remains wide: Kyiv and its European allies have called on Moscow to respond concretely to the Oslo proposals, while Lavrov's pre-meeting remarks made clear that listening is not the same as conceding. With winter approaching and the world watching every diplomatic signal from Moscow and Washington, the November 10 marker is now the date against which all sides will be measured.