United States special envoy Steve Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on Wednesday, carrying an updated American proposal to end the war in Ukraine — the latest step in a diplomatic shuttle that began a day earlier in Oslo.

The talks at the Constantine Palace came off the back of Witkoff's Tuesday summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Norway. In video of the start of the three-hour meeting, Witkoff told Putin that discussing the outcomes of the "productive" Oslo summit was on the agenda. Russian news agencies reported that Putin thanked US President Donald Trump for his efforts to settle the conflict and said Russia was interested in restoring economic ties with the United States.

A day after Oslo

The St. Petersburg trip follows intensive Tuesday talks in Oslo, where Witkoff met Zelensky alongside Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and representatives of France, Britain, Germany, Poland, the European Union and NATO. According to a US official cited by Axios, Ukraine "presented new ideas and proposals, which were discussed in detail," and the parties made "significant progress" with "strong operational alignment" on next steps.

President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner participated in the meetings virtually, officials said.

What Witkoff wants from Putin

Witkoff urged Putin to consider resuming trilateral Russia-US-Ukraine talks, where technical teams could work toward a settlement. Washington hopes the revised proposal will "create a pathway toward direct trilateral and broader multilateral negotiations," the US official said — even though the Kremlin has previously rejected a leaders' format involving Zelensky, Putin and Trump.

Trump's team is betting that recent American gestures toward Moscow have softened the ground: the administration has waived sanctions on Russian diesel sales and moved to strike a deal on diesel exports, steps welcomed in Moscow but criticised by Ukraine's supporters, who question whether easing pressure will buy concessions.

A goodwill gesture — and hard obstacles

The talks opened with Russia agreeing to release Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old American teacher who had been held in the country since 2022. Putin also offered Russia's help on Iran and said Moscow could supply fertiliser to American farmers, according to accounts of the meeting.

The obstacles, however, remain formidable. Russia's stated demands amount to near-total victory: Ukraine giving up the entire eastern Donbas region, a dramatically smaller Ukrainian military, and a pledge never to join NATO. Lavrov said on Tuesday that Moscow would listen to what Witkoff brings but would make no "political concessions," adding that Washington would remain a rival to Russia "at best."

Zelensky has said he is open to negotiating "in any format" — but "don't speak about us without us." Whether St. Petersburg produces a negotiation rather than another round of readouts is now the test of the week's shuttle diplomacy.