Putin Agrees to Restart Peace Talks With U.S. and Ukraine Next Month

The Kremlin announced Wednesday that Russia has agreed to restart three-way peace negotiations with the United States and Ukraine later this month. This decision marks a significant shift in diplomatic efforts, potentially setting the stage for the first direct talks between the three sides since February. Russian President Vladimir Putin gave his approval to the move after a lengthy discussion with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg.

Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, stated that the talks will focus on establishing a security framework for both nations once the conflict concludes. The St. Petersburg meeting lasted approximately three hours and included other senior officials, with Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, joining via video call. The session came just one day after Witkoff met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders in Oslo, where initial proposals were described by Moscow as having limited value but being a step in the right direction.

Zelenskyy expressed support for the rapid resumption of talks, noting that the goal is to end the war and prepare for a potential meeting between top leaders. However, his optimism was tempered by a missile alert that sounded over Kyiv shortly after he issued his statement. The Ukrainian president acknowledged that while Russia has often claimed readiness to negotiate, previous attempts were canceled, leaving uncertainty about whether this round will yield different results.

The push for new momentum comes more than four and a half years after the war began, with the Trump administration having made limited progress in its earlier attempts to broker a deal. During the St. Petersburg talks, Putin indicated he was open to discussing the restoration of U.S.-Russia economic ties and the use of Russia’s relationship with Iran to help bring peace. Ushakov added that several large-scale joint economic projects are nearing the implementation stage, signaling a broader scope for cooperation beyond military issues.

In a related development, Russia released Stephen Hubbard, a retired American teacher who had been imprisoned on mercenary charges. Witkoff suggested this was a goodwill gesture following Trump’s request to Putin. Meanwhile, fighting continued on the ground, with Russian attacks overnight killing five people and wounding at least 23 others across Kyiv and Kharkiv. The Russian Defense Ministry reported that air defenses intercepted hundreds of Ukrainian drones over various regions and the Black Sea.

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, who met with Witkoff in Oslo after the Russian visit, suggested that a new phase of diplomacy may be underway. He noted that the talks are likely to occur in mid-November and offered a nuanced view on border issues, stating that while Ukraine may not formally accept the current front line as a permanent border, living with it could be a practical outcome. At the White House, Trump continued to press Zelenskyy for a compromise, warning that failure to reach a deal would have severe consequences for the relationship.