Russia receives U.S. envoy carrying Ukraine peace plan, releases one detained American

[Financial News] Russia has released one American it had detained as it welcomed a U.S. government envoy who has recently taken a stance favorable to Russia in negotiations to end the Russo-Ukrainian war.
According to the U.S. Associated Press, the Russian government announced on the 21st that 74-year-old American Stephen Hubbard had been released. Hubbard is a former teacher from the U.S. state of Michigan. He was captured by Russian forces on the battlefield in Ukraine about two months after Russia invaded Russia in February 2022. In a closed trial in 2024, a Russian court sentenced Hubbard to six years and 10 months in prison on charges of “fighting in Ukraine as a foreign mercenary.”
The release took place to coincide with the visit to Russia by Steve Witkoff, the U.S. presidential peace envoy. According to Russian news agency TASS, Witkoff visited St. Petersburg, Russia, that same day and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Earlier, in an announcement on the 9th, U.S. President Donald Trump said sanctions on Russian diesel exports would be temporarily lifted, adding that Russia would supply large quantities of diesel to U.S. and international markets.
According to TASS, Witkoff met Putin on the 21st and thanked him for Russia’s diesel supplies. He said, “Economic ties between the two countries could develop after the conflict in Ukraine ends.” Under the diesel agreement, a tanker carrying 40,000 metric tons of Russian diesel is set to depart for the United States for the first time on the 22nd.
Witkoff also handed Putin a document containing a proposal to end the war in Ukraine that day. At the same time, he said, “The basic groundwork for a ceasefire with Ukraine has been laid,” and asked Putin to consider the possibility of resuming U.S.-mediated trilateral talks.
Putin also expressed interest in restoring economic cooperation with the United States at the meeting that day. The two sides also discussed the possibility of a meeting between U.S. and Russian leaders during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit to be held in China next month.
On the 18th, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), citing sources, reported that Putin proposed during a call with Trump on the 9th that the leaders of only the United States, China and Russia meet, without Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to discuss ending the Russo-Ukrainian war. Another source claimed that Russia had mentioned the APEC summit, scheduled to take place in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China, on November 18–19, as a possible venue for the trilateral meeting.
 
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