Steve Witkoff's diplomatic visits to Oslo and St Petersburg have not yielded progress towards ending the war in Ukraine, as Vladimir Putin shows little urgency to negotiate.
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01Summary
- 01Steve Witkoff met Volodymyr Zelensky in Oslo and Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg; the Kremlin described the talks as not containing much that was useful.
- 02Putin's foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said Russia may resume trilateral talks at a technical level in Abu Dhabi next month but showed no interest in a leaders' summit.
- 03Donald Trump has paused some sanctions on Russia, agreed to buy Russian diesel, and criticised Zelensky, easing pressure on the Kremlin.
- 04A potential meeting between Putin, Trump and Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Apec summit in China is being discussed.
- 05Russian state TV commentator Evgeny Popov described Trump as the only Western leader working for peace, but on Russia's terms.
02Why it matters
This matters because continued US diplomatic engagement without progress means the war in Ukraine will likely grind on through winter, with Ukrainian air defences under strain and Russian forces potentially exploiting the cold weather.
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