Putin Agrees to Resume Three-Way Ukraine Peace Talks With U.S. and Kyiv After Nov. 10, Kremlin Says
The Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed "in principle" to resume U.S.-Russia-Ukraine talks in mid-November, the first such three-way negotiations since February, after a nearly three-hour meeting with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg.
Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on Wednesday to resume three-way negotiations next month with Washington and Kyiv aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, according to the Kremlin, which said the talks could be the first such session since February.
Putin agreed “in principle” to restart the talks after Nov. 10, foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov told reporters after a nearly three-hour meeting in St. Petersburg between the Russian leader and Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s special envoy. Ushakov said the discussions would focus on “building a security system for Russia and Ukraine after the conflict ends.”
A technical-level meeting, possibly in Abu Dhabi
Witkoff and Jared Kushner proposed holding the next round at the technical level, with negotiators rather than heads of state, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private meeting. The format was accepted by Ukraine during Tuesday’s talks in Oslo and by Russia on Wednesday, the official said.
Ushakov told Russian state television the talks could take place in Abu Dhabi, where the first two rounds were held in January and February, followed by further talks in Geneva. The Kremlin’s written readout set neither a firm date nor a venue.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday he wanted the meeting to happen “no later than the beginning of November.” “Russia said many times it is ready for a meeting and then things changed and got cancelled,” he said. “Let’s see what happens this time.”
Witkoff sees progress; Kyiv urges a freeze
The St. Petersburg meeting came a day after Witkoff met with Zelenskyy and European leaders in Oslo. Witkoff later wrote on X that his talks in both capitals were “constructive” and would continue through the trilateral format. “While there is still important work left to do, President Trump remains committed to seeing this war end and achieving a comprehensive, durable peace,” he wrote.
Zelenskyy, speaking to Fox News on Wednesday, said freezing the fighting was the minimum needed from Russia. “Right now, we have to freeze, and I think this is (the) real way to end this war,” he said.
Trump pressed Kyiv for a deal during a White House meeting on Tuesday. “We want Zelenskyy to make a deal,” he told reporters. “We’ve given a lot to Ukraine. We’ve gotten absolutely nothing back except grief, death, tremendous monetary loss.”
The Kremlin was cool on the proposals that came out of the Oslo meeting, saying they “contained little of real value,” though Ushakov later said Moscow viewed them as a step in the right direction. The St. Petersburg session also produced one release: Russia freed Stephen Hubbard, a retired American schoolteacher held on charges of fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine, after Trump asked Putin to free him, according to the AP.
Meanwhile the fighting went on. Ukrainian officials said overnight Russian attacks in Kyiv killed three people and wounded 12, while two people died and 11 were wounded near Kharkiv. Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses intercepted 373 Ukrainian drones overnight.
Reporting based on coverage by the Associated Press and CNN.
