Putin tells Witkoff he is ready to resume direct peace talks, Russia releases U.S. detainee

Axios · 10/21/2026, 3:22:02 PM

Russian President Vladimir Putin told White House envoy Steve Witkoff on Wednesday that he "agrees in principle" resuming trilateral peace talks between Russia, Ukraine and the U.S. to end the war, according to Russian and U.S. officials. Why it matters: The White House hopes Putin will show more willingness to compromise after President Trump agreed to lift sanctions on Russian diesel sales and took other steps welcomed by Moscow. For now, it seems the only concession Putin agreed to is to negotiate. Driving the news: During a three-hour meeting in St. Petersburg, Witkoff presented Putin with an updated proposal to end the war in Ukraine . Trump envoy Jared Kushner joined virtually. Before the meeting, Russia released U.S. citizen Stephen Hubbard, 74, who had spent more than four years in captivity after being seized by Russian troops in eastern Ukraine in April 2022. Putin announced his release at the top of the meeting with Witkoff. "He is at Pulkovo Airport," Putin told Witkoff in front of the cameras. Witkoff in response thanked Putin and called him "a humanitarian." Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) expressed outrage at Witkoff's comment. "WTF, Steve? Look up the definition of 'humanitarian'. What an embarrassing and outrageous thing to say," Tillis wrote on X. Cornyn wrote : "No. Putin is stone cold killer." "Stephen is on his way back home and will soon be with his family. The United States, out of respect for President Trump, was not required to give anything in return - an unprecedented situation for Russia. There was no 'swap' necessary for this release," Trump wrote on Truth Social. State of play: Witkoff arrived in Russia after a day of talks in Oslo , Norway, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as the leaders of Norway and Finland and representatives from France, the U.K., Germany, Poland, the EU and NATO. Zelensky said Tuesday that the next step should be a trilateral meeting between him, Putin and Trump — a format