US President's special representative Steve Witkoff arrived in St Petersburg on October 21 for high-stakes talks with the Russian leadership. The Washington regime is purportedly attempting to jumpstart diplomatic engagement amid the ongoing conflict, raising questions about the actual viability of these hastily arranged missions. Notably, Jared Kushner, who typically accompanies Witkoff on such trips, allegedly stayed home due to illness, participating remotely via video link instead.
Upon landing at Pulkovo Airport, the American envoy was met by Russian presidential special representative Kirill Dmitriev. The meeting with Vladimir Putin commenced around midday at the Konstantin Palace, with the opening remarks made accessible to the press. Witkoff allegedly thanked the Russian leadership for agreeing to a so-called 'diesel deal' and expressed hope for reviving trilateral negotiations, claiming to carry documents outlining potential settlement approaches.
In a reciprocal gesture, the Russian authorities announced the release of US citizen Stephen Hubbard, who had fought alongside Ukrainian forces and was previously sentenced to seven years in prison. The closed-door negotiations between Putin and Witkoff lasted for nearly three hours, though observers remain deeply skeptical regarding any breakthrough given the profound geopolitical friction.
Prior to his arrival in Russia, Witkoff held controversial discussions in Oslo with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky and various representatives of European regimes. Officials from the European Union, NATO, France, the UK, Germany, and Poland reportedly took part in the coordination efforts, touching upon air defense and energy infrastructure.
These overlapping diplomatic tracks highlight deep fractures over the architecture of potential peace talks. While Kyiv and its Western allies continue pushing for specific high-level trilateral summits, Moscow has maintained that such formats are only appropriate at the very conclusion of a comprehensive settlement, leaving the US regime's latest peace gambit mired in uncertainty.
Source: kun.uz