Ukraine Warupdated 2h ago2 min read
Putin Says He Is Ready To Resume Three-Way Ukraine Talks With Washington And Kyiv
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Putin said Moscow is ready in principle to resume trilateral talks after Nov. 10. The negotiations aim to build a post-conflict security arrangement for Russia and Ukraine.
Save coverage image
A wider view of the story
Directory totals describe our source library, not outlets checked for this story.
Putin agrees in principle
Russian President Vladimir Putin told US special envoy Steve Witkoff that he was “in principle” ready to resume three-way talks with Washington and Kyiv to end the conflict in Ukraine, the Kremlin said.
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Witkoff “briefed Vladimir Putin on the substance of the talks held in Oslo,” referring to talks Witkoff held in Norway with Ukrainian and European officials on Tuesday.
Ushakov added that the talks could take place in mid-November, and he later told Russian state television Vesti that they may be held in Abu Dhabi.
The Kremlin said the St Petersburg discussion lasted about three hours, and it came a day after Witkoff met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders in Norway’s capital, Oslo.
AP reported that Putin agreed Wednesday to resume three-way negotiations next month with Washington and Kyiv aimed at ending the war, with a Kremlin official saying the talks could resume after Nov. 10.
Zelensky demands guarantees
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy insisted that any negotiations over his country’s future must include Kyiv, saying “It can be acceptable only when we are at the table of negotiations.”
Zelenskyy also told Fox News that “Right now, we have to freeze, and I think this is (the) real way to end this war,” as he called for freezing the front line as a first step.
Ushakov told reporters that the proposals from the Oslo meeting “contained little of real value in the context of resolving the Ukrainian crisis,” while he later told Russian state TV that they were a step in the right direction.
Witkoff described the latest talks as “constructive,” and he said on X that discussions would continue with the trilateral talks.
CNBC reported that Witkoff called Putin a “humanitarian” at the talks in St. Petersburg, thanking Putin for describing President Donald Trump as a “humanitarian.”
Hubbard release and next steps
Russia freed American prisoner Stephen Hubbard, a retired US teacher held in Russia, as the Kremlin described the release as a goodwill gesture during the Witkoff visit. Al Jazeera said the three-hour talks in St Petersburg began with a goodwill gesture from Russia, the release of Stephen Hubbard, a retired US teacher held in Russia. AP reported that Russia freed an American who had been jailed for more than four years on charges of fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine, in a deal completed during a visit by a top US envoy.
BBC reported that Ushakov suggested a new round could be held around 10 November in Abu Dhabi, and it said the talks must focus on “building a security system for Russia and Ukraine after the end of the conflict.” The next trilateral round was framed as a technical process, with BBC saying a US official described a “trilateral meeting at the technical level between the US, Russia, and Ukraine,” accepted in Oslo and then in St Petersburg.