Witkoff meets Putin in St. Petersburg as Ukraine war tops agenda

US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in St. Petersburg for talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on October 21. The meeting is scheduled for the first half of the day at the Konstantinovsky Palace, with the war in Ukraine as the main topic. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov called the talks a pre-agreed planned event, with Putin's representative Kirill Dmitriev also attending. Ushakov noted Moscow has had no contacts with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during previous negotiations, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said resolving the war fully without Kyiv's participation is impossible. The visit follows Witkoff's talks with the Ukrainian delegation in Oslo, after which Zelensky called for a trilateral meeting with Trump and Putin. Reports suggest Witkoff will propose direct negotiations between Putin, Zelensky, and Trump, while China's foreign minister cited a lack of trust as the main obstacle to ending the war.