Putin released 74-year-old American

The meeting, which is the ninth personal meeting between Witkoff and Putin, took place in Saint Petersburg where Witkoff landed on Wednesday morning.

He was then immediately notified that 74-year-old Stephen James Hubbard was at the airport, ready to board the plane back to the United States with Witkoff.

Hubbard, a former teacher from Michigan, has been accused of fighting as a mercenary for Ukrainian forces. He was arrested in 2022 and sentenced to just over six years in prison. According to Reuters, the US authorities as well as his family and lawyer have firmly argued that both the arrest and the charges against him are unfounded.

Before Witkoff's meeting with Putin, Donald Trump is said to have personally called Putin and asked him to release the 74-year-old. Several media outlets, including the Moscow Times, describe it as an "obvious diplomatic signal to soften the negotiating climate", from Putin's side.

According to the Kremlin's foreign policy advisor Yuriy Ushakov and spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the purpose of the meeting was to have the US debrief contacts with Ukrainian and European leaders and continue the exchange of views on "key issues" regarding a possible peace proposal.

Also on the table was the much talked about diesel deal that Trump recently announced.

The meeting in Saint Petersburg takes place after what is described as "constructive meetings in Oslo" between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj and, among others, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb. The parties are said to have achieved progress regarding security guarantees and an overall peace plan.