Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed in principle on Wednesday, 21 October, to resume United States-mediated peace talks with Ukraine, the Kremlin said, after meeting US special envoy Steve Witkoff for about three hours in St Petersburg in Washington’s latest push to end the war. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said the new three-way talks could begin on or after 10 November and could take place in Abu Dhabi, according to Reuters, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he wanted a meeting no later than the beginning of November.
What Was Discussed in St Petersburg
The meeting took place at the Constantine Palace, a grand imperial palace in Strelnya, outside St Petersburg, and was the ninth time Witkoff has met Putin in person, according to Reuters. Witkoff arrived in Russia’s second city on Wednesday morning, a day after talks in Oslo with Zelensky, the leaders of Finland and Norway, and European and NATO representatives.
At the start of the meeting, Witkoff said he hoped to discuss resuming trilateral talks involving the United States, Russia and Ukraine, so that technical teams could discuss next steps toward a settlement, according to the Associated Press. Putin thanked US President Donald Trump and Witkoff for their efforts to end the war.
Ushakov said the proposed talks, at a technical level rather than as an immediate meeting of leaders, would focus on building a security framework for both Russia and Ukraine after the conflict ends, according to Reuters, without giving further details. A US official said Ukraine accepted the proposal in Oslo on Tuesday and Russia accepted it on Wednesday, according to CNN, and that Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, took part remotely.
The talks also ranged beyond the next round’s format. Reuters reported that the two sides discussed restoring economic cooperation, the future of the international assets of sanctioned Russian oil producer Lukoil, and other large projects. Putin also raised possible Russian fertiliser supplies to the United States and help in dealing with Iran, according to CNN.
The meeting began with a prisoner release. Russia released Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired US schoolteacher held since 2022, after Trump asked Putin to free him, according to Reuters. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin had taken Hubbard’s poor health into account. Hubbard had been sentenced to six years and 10 months on mercenary charges that he denies, according to Reuters. Witkoff thanked Putin for the release.
Background: A War Still Far From a Settlement
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, a conflict Reuters and the Associated Press describe as Europe’s bloodiest since the Second World War. Efforts by the Trump administration since early last year to end the war have made no significant progress, according to the Associated Press. The last US-mediated peace talks took place in February, according to Reuters.
The two sides remain far apart on any settlement, while fighting and long-range strikes continue daily, according to the Associated Press. According to CNN, Russia’s previous demands have included Ukraine giving up the entire eastern Donbas region, sharply reducing its military and pledging never to join NATO. Reuters reported that Putin’s central aims include full Russian control of the Donetsk region and no NATO membership for Kyiv.
The Oslo talks on Tuesday were described by a US official as constructive and as making meaningful progress, according to Reuters. The official said Ukraine brought new ideas, and that discussions covered long-term security guarantees for Ukraine, a post-war economic plan and a broader European security architecture. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the Oslo meeting positive, according to Reuters, and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, who attended with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, said it “made genuine progress”, according to the Associated Press.
Reactions From Kyiv and Elsewhere
Kyiv’s reaction was supportive but cautious, and differed from Moscow on timing. Zelensky said Ukraine supports holding the meeting as soon as possible, at the level of negotiating teams, no later than the beginning of November, according to Ukrinform, Ukraine’s state news agency — earlier than Ushakov’s date of on or after 10 November. He said the teams would now discuss an agenda aimed at ending the war and preparing a possible leaders’ meeting.
“We have received feedback that Russia supports a trilateral meeting at the level of our negotiating teams. The US side proposes holding it as soon as possible. We support this,” Zelensky said, according to Ukrinform.
Zelensky also repeated that freezing the conflict along the current front line was the minimum Ukraine requires, telling Fox News, according to the Associated Press: “Right now, we have to freeze, and I think this is (the) real way to end this war.” He said Ukraine would support a ceasefire, an energy truce and humanitarian steps, including prisoner returns, according to Ukrinform, while noting that Russia had promised meetings before and plans had then changed, according to CNN: “Let’s see what happens this time.”
Witkoff described both meetings as constructive in a post on X, according to CNN: “While there is still important work left to do, President Trump remains committed to seeing this war end and achieving a comprehensive, durable peace.”
Moscow sounded more reserved about the ideas brought from Oslo. Ushakov said some of those proposals did not entirely satisfy Russia, according to Reuters, and CNN reported him as saying they contained little of actual value for resolving the crisis. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday that Moscow would not make political concessions and did not expect a miracle, according to CNN, citing Russian state media.
The talks have also taken place amid concern in Kyiv and among its allies that the United States is backing away from Ukraine. Reuters reported Ukrainian complaints about disruption to some intelligence sharing and to its use of a military satellite system since Washington announced a diesel deal with Russia this month, while noting that Zelensky said Oslo had reached an agreement to resolve those issues. The Kremlin has said any Putin-Zelensky meeting would need to be carefully prepared by aides in advance, according to Reuters.
What Happens Next
The situation is still developing. The next step is practical: negotiating teams are expected to agree an agenda, date and venue, with Abu Dhabi mentioned by the Kremlin. Timing remains unsettled, with Kyiv pressing for early November and Moscow pointing to on or after 10 November, and the talks would be at technical level, not a leaders’ summit.
What those teams would discuss is clearer in outline than in detail: a ceasefire or freeze along current lines, an energy truce, humanitarian measures such as prisoner returns, and the longer-term security framework both sides say a settlement requires. The wide gap between Russia’s demands and Ukraine’s red lines means there is no suggestion yet of an imminent breakthrough. Whether the November round takes place, and whether it leads toward a leaders’ meeting, will be the first test of the momentum Witkoff described.
