Putin Agrees “in Principle” to Resume Trilateral Talks With Ukraine and U.S. After Nov. 10

Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed “in principle” to resume trilateral peace talks with Ukraine and the United States after Nov. 10, a Kremlin aide said Wednesday, following Putin’s meeting in St. Petersburg with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff.

Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov told reporters after the sitdown that the future talks would focus on “building a security system for Russia and Ukraine after the conflict ends,” the New York Post reported. The announcement came after Putin had resisted committing to trilateral summits with Trump and Zelensky, according to the Post.

The Norway stop before Russia

Witkoff arrived in St. Petersburg on Wednesday morning, coming straight from a Tuesday summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Norway. A U.S. official told CNN the Norway talks made “meaningful progress,” with Ukraine bringing forward new ideas and proposals that were discussed in detail, and the two sides now in agreement on what comes next.

Zelensky said the proposals included long-term security guarantees for Ukraine, a post-war economic and prosperity plan, and a broader European security architecture. “We have some clear ideas on how to get to peace, and we want the Americans to take these ideas to the Russians,” he said Tuesday. “Let’s see what Putin has to say.”

What else came out of the meeting

During the St. Petersburg talks, Witkoff pressed Putin to consider resuming the trilateral format, according to Russia’s TASS news agency. The Kremlin also said Putin expressed interest in restoring economic cooperation with the United States and discussed Russia’s willingness to help resolve the war in Iran.

One concrete outcome was also announced: Russia will release 74-year-old American prisoner Stephen Hubbard, who had been detained in the country for more than four years. Witkoff was expected to accompany Hubbard home after the meeting, according to CNN.

Positions remain far apart

There was no sign Russia had moved on its central demands. Moscow wants Ukraine to give up the entire eastern Donbas region, now mostly under Russian control, to sharply reduce its military, and to pledge never to join NATO. Kyiv and its allies have restated Ukraine’s red lines: future security guarantees so Russia cannot invade again, and no territorial concessions.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov struck a less upbeat tone before the meeting, saying Moscow would see what Witkoff brought to the table but would not make “political concessions,” according to TASS. Jared Kushner, who has also been involved in the peace negotiations, joined the Russia meeting remotely because of the flu, according to CNN.

Reporting based on coverage by the New York Post and CNN.