Russian President Vladimir Putin met US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff in St Petersburg on Wednesday to discuss new proposals aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, now in its fourth year. The meeting followed Witkoff’s high-level talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Oslo, Norway, according to the BBC, citing a US official. The sequence brought the US envoy into discussions with both leaders as Washington pursues proposals to end the conflict.
A diplomatic meeting in St Petersburg
The meeting between Putin and Witkoff centred on new proposals for ending the war, according to the information reported by the BBC. The account identifies the two men who met, the location and the purpose of their discussion, but does not set out the proposals themselves or describe what was agreed. It therefore remains unclear from the reported details how the proposals were received or whether the meeting produced any next steps.
Witkoff attended the meeting as Trump’s special envoy. His role in the discussions connected the US president’s diplomatic effort with Moscow, while his earlier talks in Oslo put him in contact with Zelensky before meeting Putin. The report describes the Oslo discussions as high-level talks, but provides no further information about their agenda or what was discussed there.
Talks with both sides as the war continues
The order of the meetings is notable: Witkoff spoke with Zelensky in Norway before travelling to St Petersburg for his discussion with Putin. The reported purpose of the latter meeting was to consider proposals for ending the war. The available details do not establish whether the proposals were the same as those discussed in Oslo, or whether they were revised or expanded between the meetings.
The diplomatic contacts come as the war enters its fourth year. That context gives the talks their urgency, while the reported information leaves the status of any potential agreement unresolved. It does not say whether Ukraine or Russia has accepted the proposals, whether further meetings are planned, or what conditions either side might attach to a settlement.
For now, the confirmed development is that Putin and Trump’s envoy met in St Petersburg to discuss proposals, after Witkoff held talks with Zelensky in Oslo. The meetings show the envoy engaging with both leaders in the course of the US effort to explore an end to the conflict. Further details about the proposals, the discussions and any possible outcome were not included in the account cited by the BBC.
