Russia has expressed readiness in principle to resume trilateral negotiations with Ukraine and the United States to end the war, raising the prospect of fresh diplomatic efforts as early as November.
Yuri Ushakov, an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, disclosed this after Putin met US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, in St Petersburg on Wednesday. The meeting lasted about three hours.
Ushakov said another round of talks could take place around November 10 in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. He added that discussions should focus on establishing a security framework for Russia and Ukraine after the conflict.
A US official subsequently told the BBC that Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, had proposed a trilateral meeting involving technical-level representatives from the US, Russia and Ukraine during discussions in Oslo, Norway.
According to the official, Ukraine accepted the proposal in Oslo on Tuesday, while Russia agreed to it during Wednesday’s meeting in St Petersburg.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also confirmed that Kyiv had received feedback indicating Moscow’s support for the meeting. He said Ukraine favoured holding the talks as soon as possible.
Zelensky, who has repeatedly called for renewed negotiations, said he would accept an agreement to freeze the war along the current front line as an immediate step towards ending the fighting.
“We call it ‘ceasefire’ or ‘stop killings’ like President Trump called it. Freeze and stop. And of course this is minimum what we need from Russia today,” he told Fox News, adding that security guarantees for Ukraine could be discussed afterwards.
Witkoff described his meeting with Putin as “constructive”, while Kushner said there was still considerable work ahead but that the negotiations presented an opportunity to establish lasting peace, security and prosperity.
However, Moscow and Kyiv remain divided over the military situation. Ushakov said Putin maintained that Russian forces were advancing along the front line and held the strategic initiative. Ukraine and its European allies dispute that assessment, describing the battlefield situation as largely stalled.
The latest diplomatic push follows months of stalled negotiations. Russia had resisted resuming talks, believing it held the advantage on the battlefield, while Ukraine and its European partners had pressed for renewed engagement.
The war began in February 2022 when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The negotiations are also taking place amid tensions between Washington and Kyiv over US policy towards the conflict. Trump has called for a change in Ukraine’s leadership and criticised Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries, which he has linked to rising fuel prices.
Last week, Kyiv accused Washington of withholding intelligence needed to warn Ukrainians of incoming Russian ballistic missile attacks. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio rejected the allegation as “scandalous”, while Zelensky said after the Oslo meeting that intelligence-sharing was now working.
Separately, Russia released 74-year-old American citizen Stephen Hubbard before the Putin-Witkoff meeting. Hubbard had been sentenced to nearly seven years in prison in Russia for allegedly fighting for Ukraine.
Trump said Hubbard was returning home and that no prisoner exchange had been necessary. Witkoff praised Putin as a “humanitarian” for approving the release, prompting questions about the description.
US Vice-President JD Vance defended Witkoff, saying the envoy’s role was to secure the release of Americans detained abroad and advance diplomatic objectives.
