What happened during Witkoff and Kushner’s latest meeting with Putin

The latest round of negotiations comes amid growing concerns in Kyiv the US is backing away from its support of Ukraine.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin greets US special envoy Steve Witkoff in Saint Petersburg on Wednesday [Gavriil Grigorov/AFP]

United States special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have wrapped up their latest meeting with Vladimir Putin with the release of a retired US teacher from Russian custody.

On Wednesday, Witkoff visited with Putin at the Constantine Palace in Saint Petersburg, while Kushner attended virtually.

list 1 of 3 Putin and Zelenskyy back three-way US peace talks on Ukraine

list 2 of 3 US envoy Witkoff calls Russia’s Putin a ‘humanitarian’

list 3 of 3 Russia to send first diesel tanker to the US amid Trump deal

The two special envoys have taken a leading role in conflict negotiations under US President Donald Trump. Their last meeting with Putin came during a trip to Moscow in September.

The latest talks come as the Trump administration intensifies its efforts to secure a peace deal to end Russia’s nearly five-year-long war against Ukraine. The war began when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of the Eastern European country in February 2022.

But there are growing concerns in Kyiv that the Trump administration is backing away from its support of Ukraine.

Trump has fostered warm relations with Putin, and critics fear that he may be willing to yield to Russian demands to reach an agreement that would end Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War II.

Here’s what took place during the meeting:

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits Norway’s Parliament on Wednesday [Ole Berg-Rusten/AFP]

Putin agrees to resume peace talks with Ukraine and US

The Russian president agreed on Wednesday to resume US-mediated peace negotiations with Ukraine for the first time in months.

A US official told Al Jazeera that Witkoff and Kushner proposed a “trilateral meeting at the technical level” that would focus on guaranteeing the security of Ukraine and Russia once the war had ended. The Ukrainians accepted the meeting when they meet with the Americans on Tuesday in Oslo, Norway.

The last US-mediated peace talks took place in February, just days before the US and Israel launched their war against Iran.

The Kremlin, according to Reuters, said the new talks with Ukraine and the US may take place in Abu Dhabi and could start as soon as next month.

Russia frees retired US teacher

Wednesday’s meeting began with a goodwill gesture from Russia: the release of Stephen Hubbard, a retired American teacher who has been held in Russia for more than four years.

Hubbard, 74, was arrested in 2022 and sentenced to more than six years in a Russian prison after he was accused of being a Ukrainian mercenary. The US has argued the former teacher was wrongfully detained.

In handout footage released by the Moscow City Court press service, US citizen Stephen Hubbard attends his verdict hearing in Moscow on October 7, 2024 [File: Handout/AFP]

Trump, who made a direct appeal to Putin for Hubbard’s release, posted on social media Wednesday that Russia did not ask for a prisoner swap “out of respect for” him.

A US official said Trump spoke with Hubbard by phone and reiterated his “unwavering commitment” to bringing home all Americans who are wrongfully detained abroad.

Hubbard is headed back to the US where he will be reunited with his family.

Putin called a ‘humanitarian’

Witkoff has faced growing criticism after calling Putin a “humanitarian” for his decision to release Hubbard.

“You talk so much about my president, President Trump, being a humanitarian,” Witkoff said to Putin during Wednesday’s meeting. “You are a humanitarian also, sir, and I salute that. I commend you.”

That praise for the Russian president sparked bipartisan backlash from US lawmakers and human rights activists, who pointed to accusations of severe human rights abuses under Putin’s leadership.

“WTF, Steve?” US Senator Thom Tillis wrote on social media, using an acronym for an expression of surprise: “What the f***?”

Tillis, a member of Trump’s Republican Party, continued by writing that Witkoff should look up the definition of “humanitarian”.

“What an embarrassing and outrageous thing to say,” he said. “You should go back to Ukraine and ask the families of the children Putin has kidnapped and murdered whether they agree your friend Putin is a ‘humanitarian’.”

Tillis’s Senate colleague, Republican John Cornyn, echoed those thoughts.

“Putin is stone cold killer,” he wrote in response to Witkoff’s remarks.

US Senator Mark Kelly, who serves on the US Senate Intelligence and Armed Services Committees, also blasted Witkoff, calling Putin a “war criminal”.

“In what world is Putin a ‘humanitarian?’ He’s assassinated political rivals and journalists, bombed hospitals, and started a war that has intentionally killed tens of thousands of innocent people, including women and children,” Kelly, a Democrat from Arizona, said.

But members of the Trump administration defended Witkoff amid the outrage. During a visit to his home state of Ohio, Vice President JD Vance argued that Witkoff had “a job to get done”. He indicated that complimenting Putin likely aided with the negotiations.

“I agree with Steve Witkoff saying something nice to a person who just released an American hostage”, Vance told reporters.

At a White House event on Wednesday, Trump said Witkoff’s characterisation of Putin was a “good saying” for “that particular purpose”: to release Hubbard.

“But I wouldn’t say anything one way or the other,” the US president said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, China, on May 20 [File: Alexander Kazakov/Sputnik]

Trump, Putin and Xi meeting gains steam

The Kremlin said a possible meeting between Trump, Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping was discussed during Wednesday’s negotiations.

Russian officials said that, if the meeting is confirmed, it could take place next month on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in China.

“Given that all three heads of state may potentially take part in the summit in China, the subject of such a hypothetical meeting was indeed raised,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.

“No specific proposals or agreements were discussed or put forward by anyone, either regarding the meeting itself or the possible agenda and content of that meeting.”

The three leaders have never before met for a dedicated trilateral visit.

最新一轮谈判正值基辅方面越来越担心美国正在撤回对乌克兰的支持之际。

俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京周三在圣彼得堡会见了美国特使史蒂夫·威特科夫。[加夫里尔·格里戈罗夫/法新社]

美国特使史蒂夫·威特科夫和贾里德·库什纳结束了与弗拉基米尔·普京的最新会晤，促成了一名退休美国教师从俄罗斯的拘留中获释。

周三，维特科夫在圣彼得堡的君士坦丁宫会见了普京，而库什纳则以视频方式出席了会见。

列表 1/3：普京和泽连斯基支持美乌三方和平谈判

名单2/3：美国特使维特科夫称俄罗斯总统普京为“人道主义者”

俄罗斯将在特朗普协议框架下向美国派遣首艘柴油油轮（共3条记录，此为第3条）。

这两位特使在美国总统唐纳德·特朗普的领导下，在冲突谈判中发挥了主导作用。他们最近一次与普京会面是在9月份访问莫斯科期间。

最新一轮会谈正值特朗普政府加大力度寻求达成和平协议，以结束俄罗斯对乌克兰长达近五年的战争之际。这场战争始于2022年2月俄罗斯对这个东欧国家发动的全面入侵。

但基辅方面越来越担心特朗普政府正在减少对乌克兰的支持。

特朗普与普京建立了密切关系，批评人士担心他可能愿意向俄罗斯的要求妥协，以达成一项能够结束二战以来欧洲最血腥冲突的协议。

以下是会议期间发生的事情：

乌克兰总统泽连斯基周三访问挪威议会 [Ole Berg-Rusten/AFP]

普京同意恢复与乌克兰和美国的和平谈判

俄罗斯总统周三同意恢复由美国斡旋的与乌克兰的和平谈判，这是几个月来的首次。

一位美国官员告诉半岛电视台，维特科夫和库什纳提议举行一次“技术层面的三方会谈”，重点讨论战后如何保障乌克兰和俄罗斯的安全。乌克兰方面接受了这一提议，他们将于周二在挪威奥斯陆与美国方面会晤。

美国斡旋的最后一次和平谈判于2月份举行，就在美以两国对伊朗发动战争前几天。

据路透社报道，克里姆林宫表示，乌克兰与美国的新一轮会谈可能会在阿布扎比举行，最早可能下个月开始。

俄罗斯释放美国退休教师

周三的会议以俄罗斯方面的善意姿态拉开帷幕：释放了被俄罗斯关押四年多的退休美国教师斯蒂芬·哈伯德。

现年74岁的哈伯德于2022年被捕，并被指控为乌克兰雇佣兵，随后被判处六年多俄罗斯监禁。美国方面则认为这位前教师遭到了错误拘留。

莫斯科市法院新闻处发布的视频显示，美国公民斯蒂芬·哈伯德于 2024 年 10 月 7 日在莫斯科出席了他的判决听证会。[文件：发布/法新社]

特朗普曾直接呼吁普京释放哈伯德，他周三在社交媒体上发帖称，俄罗斯没有要求交换囚犯是“出于对他的尊重”。

一位美国官员表示，特朗普与哈伯德通了电话，重申了他“坚定不移的承诺”，即让所有在国外被错误拘留的美国公民回国。

哈伯德即将返回美国，与家人团聚。

普京称其为“人道主义者”

维特科夫称普京释放哈伯德的决定是“人道主义”之举，此举引发了越来越多的批评。

“您经常称赞我的总统特朗普是一位人道主义者，”维特科夫在周三的会晤中对普京说，“您也是一位人道主义者，先生，我对此表示敬意。我赞赏您。”

对俄罗斯总统的赞扬引发了美国两党议员和人权活动人士的强烈反对，他们指出普京领导下存在严重的人权侵犯行为。

“史蒂夫，你搞什么鬼？”美国参议员汤姆·蒂利斯在社交媒体上写道，他用了一个表示惊讶的缩写：“什么鬼？”

蒂利斯是特朗普所属的共和党成员，他接着写道，维特科夫应该查查“人道主义者”的定义。

“这话真是令人尴尬又荒谬，”他说。“你应该回到乌克兰，问问那些被普京绑架和杀害的孩子的家属，他们是否也认为你的朋友普京是‘人道主义者’。”

蒂利斯的参议院同事、共和党人约翰·科宁也表达了类似的看法。

“普京是个冷血杀手，”他回应维特科夫的言论时写道。

美国参议员马克·凯利是美国参议院情报委员会和军事委员会的成员，他也猛烈抨击了维特科夫，称普京是“战争罪犯”。

“普京在哪个世界里算得上是‘人道主义者’？他暗杀政治对手和记者，轰炸医院，发动战争蓄意杀害了数万名无辜民众，其中包括妇女和儿童，”来自亚利桑那州的民主党人凯利说道。

尽管舆论一片哗然，特朗普政府成员仍为维特科夫辩护。副总统万斯在访问维特科夫的家乡俄亥俄州时辩称，维特科夫“有任务在身”。他还暗示，赞扬普京可能有助于谈判。

“我同意史蒂夫·威特科夫对刚刚释放美国人质的人说些好话，”万斯告诉记者。

周三在白宫的一次活动上，特朗普表示，威特科夫对普京的描述“恰好说对了”，其“特定目的”是释放哈伯德。

“但我不会就此事发表任何评论，”美国总统说道。

5月20日，俄罗斯总统普京在中国北京与中国国家主席习近平握手。[图片：Alexander Kazakov/Sputnik]

特朗普、普京和习近平会晤势头增强

克里姆林宫表示，在周三的谈判中，讨论了特朗普、普京和中国国家主席习近平可能举行会晤的事宜。

俄罗斯官员表示，如果会议得到确认，可能会在下个月于中国举行的亚太经合组织峰会期间举行。

克里姆林宫发言人德米特里·佩斯科夫周三表示：“鉴于三位国家元首都有可能参加在中国举行的峰会，因此确实提出了举行这样一次假设性会晤的话题。”

“无论是关于会议本身，还是关于会议的可能议程和内容，都没有人讨论或提出任何具体的建议或协议。”

这三位领导人此前从未进行过专门的三方访问。