PoliticsAvailable in English
Witkoff Pushes Putin to Restart Peace Talks
Editorial
Cross Lines editing
Source
Foreign Policy
Foreign Policy
Foreign Policy
Original Source
Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to resume U.S.-mediated peace talks with Ukraine as soon as next month, but has signaled no willingness to compromise on its core demands following a meeting in St. Petersburg with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff. The White House, meanwhile, has described the back-to-back talks as constructive, even as Washington's frustration has focused on Kyiv rather than Moscow.
Witkoff Pushes Putin to Restart Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks
!Foreign Policy
Foreign Policy Get analysis and alerts more quickly in the mobile app.
Install
Back to Foreign Policy Magazine home page
* Latest
* Regions
+ Asia & the Pacific
+ China
+ Middle East & Africa
+ Americas
+ Europe
* Newsletters
Editors’ Picks
Evening roundup with our editors’ favorite stories of the day
!World Brief Icon
World Brief
Your guide to the most important world stories of the day
!China Brief Icon
China Brief
The latest news, analysis, and data from the country each week
Situation Report
Weekly update on what’s driving U.S. national security policy
FP Weekend
A curation of our best book reviews, deep dives, and other reads
!Africa Brief Icon
Africa Brief
Essential analysis of the stories shaping geopolitics on the continent
!South Asia Brief Icon
South Asia Brief
Weekly update on developments in India and its neighbors
The Reading List
Curated guides on geopolitics and current affairs
FP Bookshelf
A monthly guide to FP’s book reviews, excerpts, and reading recommendations
!Latin America Brief Icon
Latin America Brief
One-stop digest of politics, economics, and culture
!Southeast Asia Brief Icon
Southeast Asia Brief
A weekly dispatch with news from the region’s 11 countries
The New Geopolitics
A five-part masterclass in IR theory with Harvard Professor Stephen M. Walt
View All Newsletters
* FP Live
* Latest
* Trending:
* France's crisis
* U.S. midterms
Search this website
* Preferences
* My FP Feed
* Saved Articles
* Newsletters
* Magazine Archive
* Subscription Settings
* FAQs
* Log Out
Sign In
Sign In
Team access Team access
Subscribe Subscribe Team access Team access
World Brief: Witkoff Pushes Putin to Restart Peace Talks
*
*
* Facebook
* Bluesky
* X
* LinkedIn
* WhatsApp
* Reddit
Save
1. Create an FP account to save articles to read later.
Sign Up
ALREADY AN FP SUBSCRIBER? LOGIN
PDF
1. **Downloadable PDFs** are a benefit of an FP subscription.
Subscribe Now
ALREADY AN FP SUBSCRIBER? LOGIN
Gift
*
*
* WhatsApp
1. Gifting articles is a subscriber benefit.
Subscribe Now
ALREADY AN FP SUBSCRIBER? LOGIN
2. This article is an Insider exclusive.
Contact us at [email protected] to learn about upgrade options, unlocking the ability to gift this article.
World Brief
FP’s flagship daily newsletter, catching you up on 24 hours of news in five minutes. Delivered weekdays.
Witkoff Pushes Putin to Restart Peace Talks
The Russian leader said he is ready to resume negotiations but refused to compromise on key points.
!An illustration of Alexandra Sharp, World Brief newsletter writer
*An illustration of Alexandra Sharp, World Brief newsletter writer*
*Alexandra Sharp*
By **Alexandra Sharp**, the World Brief writer at *Foreign Policy*.
!Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff while standing in front of a window.
*Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff while standing in front of a window.*
Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) greets U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff prior to their meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Oct. 21. Gavriil Grigorov/AFP via Getty Images
My FP: Follow topics and authors to get straight to what you like. Exclusively for FP subscribers. Subscribe Now | Log In
*
*
*
*
October 21, 2026, 4:04 PM
Russia’s War in Ukraine
Understanding the conflict four years on.
More on this topic
Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at U.S. envoy **Steve Witkoff** courting Russian President **Vladimir Putin**, the United Kingdom’s approval of an **offshore natural gas** project, and psychological warfare on the **Korean Peninsula**.
---
Witkoff Courts Putin in St. Petersburg
Less than 24 hours after U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff held high-stakes talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Norway, U.S. President Donald Trump’s go-to negotiator flew to Russia for an ambitious meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday. The focus: restarting Ukraine peace talks.
Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at U.S. envoy **Steve Witkoff** courting Russian President **Vladimir Putin**, the United Kingdom’s approval of an **offshore natural gas** project, and psychological warfare on the **Korean Peninsula**.
Sign up to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday.
---
Witkoff Courts Putin in St. Petersburg
Less than 24 hours after U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff held high-stakes talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Norway, U.S. President Donald Trump’s go-to negotiator flew to Russia for an ambitious meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday. The focus: restarting Ukraine peace talks.
In recent weeks, Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with the continuation of the war in Ukraine, especially as high fuel prices at home risk undermining the Republican Party’s performance in next month’s midterm elections. Trump’s ire, however, has primarily centered on Kyiv—not Moscow.
Last week, Ukraine accused the Trump administration of abruptly limiting its access to military-grade Starlink satellite services and of threatening to withhold information crucial to its defense. Trump had repeatedly urged Ukraine to halt attacks on Russian oil refineries, even as Moscow continued to target Kyiv’s power grid.
Meanwhile, the White House suspended U.S. sanctions on Russian diesel exports last week and floated a multibillion-dollar deal with Russia’s Lukoil.
Even though Trump has argued that Ukraine should find “somebody else to negotiate” other than Zelensky, the White House has expressed no such qualms with Putin. Instead, Witkoff appeared to pull out all the stops to curry favor with the Kremlin on Wednesday, including by stroking Putin’s ego.
“You are a humanitarian also, sir, and I salute that, I commend you, and I thank you again,” Witkoff told Putin, who is wanted as a war criminal by the International Criminal Court. The comments were made after Moscow released a U.S. citizen detained in Russia since 2022 as part of a goodwill gesture.
The flattery may have worked. Russia confirmed on Wednesday that Putin has agreed to resume U.S.-mediated peace talks with Ukraine as soon as next month. The negotiations are likely to be on the technical level, such as how to ensure Ukraine’s security once the conflict ends.
However, Moscow did not give any indication that it is willing to compromise on some of its biggest demands, including full Russian control of the occupied Donetsk region, a halt to Ukraine’s NATO membership ambitions, and the establishment of a peace deal without first securing a cease-fire.
“Russia would like to get it done,” Trump said on Tuesday, referring to reaching a peace agreement. However, he expressed doubt that Zelensky wants to end the conflict. “If they don’t make a deal, it’s just going to get worse” for Ukraine, he added.
Zelensky responded with his own caveats, reiterating calls for a cease-fire while agreeing to freeze his military’s front line. At the same time, Ukraine carried out more strikes on Russian energy infrastructure on Wednesday, doubling down on a pledge to target such sites so long as Russia continues to do so.
Still, the Trump administration is painting Witkoff’s back-to-back meetings as “constructive,” especially as Putin appears eager to foster closer ties with the United States.
---
Today’s Most Read
* **Why Is France Perpetually Rioting?** *by Emile Chabal*
* **The Iran War Has Changed the World Forever** *by Kenneth M. Pollack*
* **How Ukraine Is Navigating Trump’s Latest U-Turn** *by Keith Johnson*
---
What We’re Following
**Drill, baby, drill.** The British government approved a controvers
!Foreign Policy
Foreign Policy Get analysis and alerts more quickly in the mobile app.
Install
Back to Foreign Policy Magazine home page
* Latest
* Regions
+ Asia & the Pacific
+ China
+ Middle East & Africa
+ Americas
+ Europe
* Newsletters
Editors’ Picks
Evening roundup with our editors’ favorite stories of the day
!World Brief Icon
World Brief
Your guide to the most important world stories of the day
!China Brief Icon
China Brief
The latest news, analysis, and data from the country each week
Situation Report
Weekly update on what’s driving U.S. national security policy
FP Weekend
A curation of our best book reviews, deep dives, and other reads
!Africa Brief Icon
Africa Brief
Essential analysis of the stories shaping geopolitics on the continent
!South Asia Brief Icon
South Asia Brief
Weekly update on developments in India and its neighbors
The Reading List
Curated guides on geopolitics and current affairs
FP Bookshelf
A monthly guide to FP’s book reviews, excerpts, and reading recommendations
!Latin America Brief Icon
Latin America Brief
One-stop digest of politics, economics, and culture
!Southeast Asia Brief Icon
Southeast Asia Brief
A weekly dispatch with news from the region’s 11 countries
The New Geopolitics
A five-part masterclass in IR theory with Harvard Professor Stephen M. Walt
View All Newsletters
* FP Live
* Latest
* Trending:
* France's crisis
* U.S. midterms
Search this website
* Preferences
* My FP Feed
* Saved Articles
* Newsletters
* Magazine Archive
* Subscription Settings
* FAQs
* Log Out
Sign In
Sign In
Team access Team access
Subscribe Subscribe Team access Team access
World Brief: Witkoff Pushes Putin to Restart Peace Talks
*
*
* Bluesky
* X
Save
1. Create an FP account to save articles to read later.
Sign Up
ALREADY AN FP SUBSCRIBER? LOGIN
1. **Downloadable PDFs** are a benefit of an FP subscription.
Subscribe Now
ALREADY AN FP SUBSCRIBER? LOGIN
Gift
*
*
1. Gifting articles is a subscriber benefit.
Subscribe Now
ALREADY AN FP SUBSCRIBER? LOGIN
2. This article is an Insider exclusive.
Contact us at [email protected] to learn about upgrade options, unlocking the ability to gift this article.
World Brief
FP’s flagship daily newsletter, catching you up on 24 hours of news in five minutes. Delivered weekdays.
Witkoff Pushes Putin to Restart Peace Talks
The Russian leader said he is ready to resume negotiations but refused to compromise on key points.
!An illustration of Alexandra Sharp, World Brief newsletter writer
*An illustration of Alexandra Sharp, World Brief newsletter writer*
*Alexandra Sharp*
By **Alexandra Sharp**, the World Brief writer at *Foreign Policy*.
!Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff while standing in front of a window.
*Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff while standing in front of a window.*
Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) greets U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff prior to their meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Oct. 21. Gavriil Grigorov/AFP via Getty Images
My FP: Follow topics and authors to get straight to what you like. Exclusively for FP subscribers. Subscribe Now | Log In
*
*
*
*
October 21, 2026, 4:04 PM
Russia’s War in Ukraine
Understanding the conflict four years on.
Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at U.S. envoy **Steve Witkoff** courting Russian President **Vladimir Putin**, the United Kingdom’s approval of an **offshore natural gas** project, and psychological warfare on the **Korean Peninsula**.
---
Witkoff Courts Putin in St. Petersburg
Less than 24 hours after U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff held high-stakes talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Norway, U.S. President Donald Trump’s go-to negotiator flew to Russia for an ambitious meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday. The focus: restarting Ukraine peace talks.
Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at U.S. envoy **Steve Witkoff** courting Russian President **Vladimir Putin**, the United Kingdom’s approval of an **offshore natural gas** project, and psychological warfare on the **Korean Peninsula**.
Sign up to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday.
---
Witkoff Courts Putin in St. Petersburg
Less than 24 hours after U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff held high-stakes talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Norway, U.S. President Donald Trump’s go-to negotiator flew to Russia for an ambitious meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday. The focus: restarting Ukraine peace talks.
In recent weeks, Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with the continuation of the war in Ukraine, especially as high fuel prices at home risk undermining the Republican Party’s performance in next month’s midterm elections. Trump’s ire, however, has primarily centered on Kyiv—not Moscow.
Last week, Ukraine accused the Trump administration of abruptly limiting its access to military-grade Starlink satellite services and of threatening to withhold information crucial to its defense. Trump had repeatedly urged Ukraine to halt attacks on Russian oil refineries, even as Moscow continued to target Kyiv’s power grid.
Meanwhile, the White House suspended U.S. sanctions on Russian diesel exports last week and floated a multibillion-dollar deal with Russia’s Lukoil.
Even though Trump has argued that Ukraine should find “somebody else to negotiate” other than Zelensky, the White House has expressed no such qualms with Putin. Instead, Witkoff appeared to pull out all the stops to curry favor with the Kremlin on Wednesday, including by stroking Putin’s ego.
“You are a humanitarian also, sir, and I salute that, I commend you, and I thank you again,” Witkoff told Putin, who is wanted as a war criminal by the International Criminal Court. The comments were made after Moscow released a U.S. citizen detained in Russia since 2022 as part of a goodwill gesture.
The flattery may have worked. Russia confirmed on Wednesday that Putin has agreed to resume U.S.-mediated peace talks with Ukraine as soon as next month. The negotiations are likely to be on the technical level, such as how to ensure Ukraine’s security once the conflict ends.
However, Moscow did not give any indication that it is willing to compromise on some of its biggest demands, including full Russian control of the occupied Donetsk region, a halt to Ukraine’s NATO membership ambitions, and the establishment of a peace deal without first securing a cease-fire.
“Russia would like to get it done,” Trump said on Tuesday, referring to reaching a peace agreement. However, he expressed doubt that Zelensky wants to end the conflict. “If they don’t make a deal, it’s just going to get worse” for Ukraine, he added.
Zelensky responded with his own caveats, reiterating calls for a cease-fire while agreeing to freeze his military’s front line. At the same time, Ukraine carried out more strikes on Russian energy infrastructure on Wednesday, doubling down on a pledge to target such sites so long as Russia continues to do so.
Still, the Trump administration is painting Witkoff’s back-to-back meetings as “constructive,” especially as Putin appears eager to foster closer ties with the United States.
---
Today’s Most Read
* **Why Is France Perpetually Rioting?** *by Emile Chabal*
* **The Iran War Has Changed the World Forever** *by Kenneth M. Pollack*
* **How Ukraine Is Navigating Trump’s Latest U-Turn** *by Keith Johnson*
---
What We’re Following
**Drill, baby, drill.** The British government approved a controvers
Share Article
Tags:#ستيف ويتكوف#فلاديمير بوتين#أوكرانيا#محادثات السلام#البيت الأبيض#روسيا
Source: Foreign Policy
For Context
Related reads from the same topic or latest developments
