Witkoff and Kushner expected at Putin talks – US reportedly seeks American's release
After the Oslo talks with Zelensky, Trump's envoys are due to meet Putin in St Petersburg on Wednesday. According to the New York Times, they also seek the release of a long-held American.
Archive image · Photo: kremlin.ru / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 (cropped and resized)
US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner plan to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg on Wednesday, according to the New York Times. A source confirmed Witkoff's travel plans to Russia to the state news agency TASS but did not say where the meeting would take place. According to the paper, the envoys aim to show the benefits of deal-making with Putin by securing the release of a long-held American. The report did not name the person.
According to the New York Times, as relayed by the exile outlet Meduza, the only American the US State Department currently classifies as wrongfully detained in Russia is Stephen Hubbard, 72, who was sentenced in 2024 to six years and ten months in a penal colony on mercenary charges. On Tuesday, Witkoff held talks in Oslo with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, while Kushner joined remotely because he had the flu. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said Witkoff would try to pave the way for a meeting of the leaders of the US, Ukraine and Russia.