Russia frees jailed American Stephen Hubbard, US envoy says

US special envoy Steve Witkoff held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on Wednesday as part of new efforts toward a peace deal in Ukraine.

Putin announced the release of Stephen Hubbard, an American taken captive by Russian forces years ago in Ukraine on charges of being a mercenary.

Hubbard had been sentenced to seven years in prison at a closed trial in 2014.

The meeting comes a day after Witkoff met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Norway, which US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described as "positive."

"He will now, armed with those ideas, be able to ‌go to St Petersburg and share them with the Russian side, and ‌let's ​see if we can make some progress," he said.

Witkoff to return to Oslo

Witkoff's meeting with Zelenskyy and other European leaders in Oslo has brought fresh momentum to peace efforts, more than 4 years after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian leader remained in Oslo on Wednesday where met with lawmakers in the Norwegian parliament.

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said that Witkoff planned to return to Oslo for further consultations after his trip to St. Petersburg.

"I think we may have entered a phase now where the Russians are also looking for opportunities for diplomacy," he told Norway's public broadcaster NRK on Wednesday morning.

Nevertheless, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow was willing to listen but that he didn't expect any "miracle." US President Donald Trump on Tuesday reiterated that he wants Zelenskyy "to make a deal."