US special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in St Petersburg on Wednesday to discuss the war in Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to the news agency AP and the French news broadcaster France 24, citing the Russian news agency TASS, Witkoff landed in the city in the morning; he was received at the airport by Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev.
The visit follows Witkoff’s talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and senior European politicians on Tuesday in Oslo. The hosts were Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb. According to Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov, Putin is to receive Witkoff on Wednesday at the Konstantin Palace in St Petersburg, in the first half of the day; Dmitriev will also take part, according to the same source. Ushakov said that negotiations on a settlement in Ukraine were part of the agenda.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is on a visit to India, described the talks with Zelensky as “positive”. Witkoff could now “travel to St Petersburg with these ideas and present them to the Russian side – and let us see whether we can make progress”, Rubio said according to France 24 and RFE/RL. The US outlet Axios reports, according to France 24, that Witkoff will present Putin with an updated peace proposal.
A trilateral meeting as the goal
After the talks in Oslo, Zelensky said that Witkoff would present Russia with the proposal for a trilateral meeting of the heads of state and government of Ukraine, Russia and the USA. “We want the Americans to bring these ideas to the Russians,” he said according to RFE/RL. One of the important ideas was the transition to a possible trilateral meeting in order to clarify questions that only the heads of state and government could decide. Støre told the Norwegian broadcaster NRK on Wednesday morning that a phase might have been reached in which the Russians too were seeking opportunities for diplomacy. Witkoff’s appointment could “possibly pave the way for a meeting at the highest political level”, Støre had already said on Tuesday evening according to Spiegel.
The tone between Kyiv and Washington had recently sharpened. US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday at the White House that he wanted Zelensky to conclude “a deal” with Russia. “We have given Ukraine a lot. We have received absolutely nothing back but grief, death and enormous financial losses,” Trump said according to AP. At the same time, according to France 24, Trump had last week demanded Zelensky’s resignation and suspended sanctions against Russia’s war machine; he also agreed diesel purchases in Russia. Important military assistance for Ukraine stalled.
Early warning working again
One point of contention was early warning of Russian missile attacks. Zelensky said in Oslo that Kyiv was again receiving warnings from its partners about incoming missiles. “We are grateful that the intelligence is working,” he said according to France 24 and RFE/RL. The early warning was “very, very important for our people, for children, adults, civilians”, because one hears when ballistic missiles are coming. The change had come after a conversation with US Secretary of State Rubio, AP reports.
Another point of contention is satellite internet. According to Spiegel, Ukraine had recently complained of problems with the Starlink service; France 24 reports, citing the “Wall Street Journal”, that SpaceX founder Elon Musk had ordered the throttling of the military version Starshield. Trump denies having ordered the throttling. Rubio said on Wednesday in Mumbai that Washington had had no prior knowledge of the slowdown: “The president has nothing to do with the decisions that are taken by Starlink and Starshield and by Mr Musk.”
According to Spiegel, representatives of several European countries, including Germany, as well as of the EU and Nato also took part in the Oslo talks by video; alongside Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner was also connected. According to RFE/RL, Kushner will also take part in the meeting with Putin on Wednesday only virtually because of illness. According to sources close to the meeting, security guarantees for Ukraine, territorial questions, sanctions and European security after the war were discussed in Oslo. Zelensky stressed according to Spiegel: “We are ready for negotiations. We are not losing the war, but we are losing lives.”
A quick agreement is not in sight. AP points out that the US government’s efforts since the beginning of last year had brought no substantial progress and that no immediate breakthrough was being suggested; Russia and Ukraine remain far apart on the conditions for a settlement. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday according to AP that Moscow was ready to listen to new US proposals on Ukraine but expected no “miracle” from Washington. According to Støre, Witkoff intends to return to Oslo afterwards for further consultations. Zelensky was still in Oslo on Wednesday and, according to AP, visited the country’s parliament.
Meanwhile, Russian air strikes on Ukraine continued. According to Spiegel, at least nine civilians died on Tuesday. These figures come from the news blog of the Süddeutsche Zeitung and from Spiegel and cannot be independently verified.
