Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff plans to meet soon with Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin, Reuters and Axios correspondent Barak Ravid reported, citing sources.
Witkoff will travel to Oslo this week (October 19 to 25) for another round of talks on ending the war in Ukraine, Reuters reported. Zelensky will also attend, along with representatives of Norway, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Poland, the European Union, and NATO.
Sources told Reuters and Ravid that Witkoff plans to visit Russia afterward to meet with Putin. The timing of that visit is unknown.
Witkoff plans to present Putin with ideas for ending the war developed jointly with Ukraine and European partners, Ravid reported. The talks may also address the release of 73-year-old American Stephen Hubbard from a Russian penal colony. In October 2024, a Russian court sentenced Hubbard to six years and 10 months in a medium-security prison on charges of serving as a mercenary.
Trump’s negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with a Ukrainian delegation in Miami on October 9. That same day, Trump spoke with Putin by phone. Afterward, Trump said Russia would supply diesel fuel to the U.S. and global markets under a “diesel deal.” The U.S.–Ukraine talks were scheduled for October 9 and 10 but ended early, after the first day. Witkoff and Kushner were expected to travel to Moscow afterward, but the visit was postponed.
U.S.-led talks to end Russia’s war in Ukraine
- The Washington Post: U.S. and Europe are developing a new plan to end the Russia–Ukraine war, offering incentives and security arrangements in exchange for a ceasefire along the current front line
- U.S. pushes to revive Ukraine–Russia talks after Witkoff and Kushner meet Zelensky in Kyiv
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