EU awaits US report on Witkoff-Putin talks over Ukraine peace prospects

The European Commission expects the US delegation to brief on results after US envoy Steve Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg, with a key focus on potential Ukraine-Russia negotiations. Commission spokesperson Paula Pinho said on Wednesday, October 21, that a main goal of the October 20 Oslo meeting between Ukraine, the US, and European partners was to assess conditions for trilateral or multilateral talks involving Russia. She stated the Commission awaits further information from the American side following the delegation's return. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met Witkoff in Oslo on October 20 with Norwegian and Finnish leaders. Witkoff traveled to St. Petersburg the next day and said on October 21 he brought Putin documents outlining approaches to ending the war in Ukraine.