ST PETERSBURG, October 22 (Aalimi Nation) – Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed in principle to resume three-way talks with Ukraine and the United States, the Kremlin said, after he met US envoy Steve Witkoff near St Petersburg on Wednesday. The Kremlin has not named a venue, and the announcement is not a ceasefire.
Yuri Ushakov, Mr Putin's foreign affairs adviser, said the talks could resume after November 10. He said they would focus on "building a security system for Russia and Ukraine after the conflict ends."
The meeting lasted about three hours near St Petersburg. Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev attended, and US presidential adviser Jared Kushner joined by video link.
Mr Ushakov said proposals Mr Witkoff had discussed a day earlier in Oslo "contained little of real value in the context of resolving the Ukrainian crisis." Later, on Russian state television, he said Moscow was not "fully satisfied" with them but regarded them as a step in the right direction.
Washington and Kyiv respond
Mr Witkoff said there was "some degree of momentum" in the peace effort. He also thanked Mr Putin for agreeing to send diesel to the United States after President Donald Trump lifted a ban, a move that Mr Witkoff said would help lower prices for American farmers and truckers. Some US lawmakers have been angered by the decision to lift the ban.
A US official said the United States had proposed holding the trilateral meeting as soon as possible. Speaking at the White House on Tuesday, Mr Trump said: "We want Zelenskyy to make a deal."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he supports the proposal and hopes the three-way talks can take place in early November. He said Kyiv backs "any proposals for a ceasefire, an end to the war, an energy ceasefire as well as humanitarian initiatives."
Before the meeting, Russia released Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old US citizen who had been held for more than four years. Mr Witkoff announced the release, which came after Mr Trump asked Mr Putin to free him. Russian authorities had accused Mr Hubbard of fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine.
Hours after the talks, Ukrainian officials said ballistic missiles struck Kyiv. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote: "Explosions in the capital. Kyiv is under ballistic attack." Six people were injured, and homes, a petrol station and vehicles were damaged, according to Ukrainian authorities.
Earlier three-way rounds were held in Abu Dhabi in January and February and in Geneva in February. They produced little beyond prisoner exchanges. The last US-mediated peace talks took place in February, before the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran.
Russia and Ukraine remain divided over territorial control, security guarantees and the terms for ending the war. The Prime Minister of Norway, Jonas Gahr Støre, said he thought "we may have entered a phase now where the Russians are also looking for opportunities for diplomacy."
The key questions now are the venue and date of the trilateral meeting, whether Kyiv and Moscow will accept the agenda Mr Ushakov described, and whether the continuing strikes affect the preparations.
