The key facts
- Peskov: negotiators Witkoff and Kushner are following Trump's 'general line' on Ukraine
- On October 21, Witkoff arrived in St. Petersburg for a meeting with Putin; Kushner is ill, remote participation is possible
- On October 20, a round of US-Ukraine talks took place in Oslo; Stubb reported working-level agreements
Kremlin statement
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in a comment to the IS 'Vesti' news service, said that American negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are adhering to US President Donald Trump's course on a peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian conflict. 'The negotiators are following this general line,' the Kremlin spokesman said, commenting, in Life.ru's wording, on Trump's sincere desire to help achieve peace in Ukraine.
New round of contacts in St. Petersburg
The statement came against the backdrop of a new round of Russian-American contacts. On October 21, Witkoff arrived in St. Petersburg for a meeting with Vladimir Putin. Kushner was unable to come due to illness, however, according to Life.ru, the possibility of his remote participation in the talks remains.
Previous stages of the talks
On September 5, Witkoff and Kushner spent more than three hours in the Kremlin in talks with Putin. At the time, according to Life.ru, the Russian president positively assessed the mediation of the American representatives, noting the high level of trust in them.
Miami and Oslo
The next stage of diplomatic efforts proved difficult: in early October, consultations between the American and Ukrainian delegations in Miami ended ahead of schedule. According to the Financial Times, the reason was disagreements that arose after Trump's announcement of fuel agreements with Moscow. A new round took place on October 20 in Oslo. Following it, Finnish President Alexander Stubb reported certain agreements reached at the working level and said that the prepared proposals were to be presented to the Russian side.
