Witkoff Praises Putin During Meeting on Hubbard’s Release

U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff praised Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting in St. Petersburg on Wednesday, thanking him for Russia’s release of American Stephen Hubbard while urging renewed negotiations over the war in Ukraine. Video of the meeting shows Witkoff calling Putin a humanitarian, or humanist, and expressing respect as he thanked him for Hubbard’s release. Hubbard, 74, had been held in Russia for more than four years. The State Department described the charges against him as fabricated, while Russia had accused him of being a Ukrainian mercenary, according to reporting on his case. The circumstances and terms of Hubbard’s release were not detailed in the accounts. One report said Russia released him unilaterally rather than through a prisoner exchange. Witkoff’s thanks came at the start of his meeting with Putin, which also addressed possible steps toward ending the war. Witkoff presented documents outlining possible approaches to a peace settlement and asked Putin to consider resuming negotiations involving the United States, Ukraine and Russia, according to an account of his remarks. He said technical working groups could take part and urged discussion of...