Russia has agreed in principle to resume trilateral talks with Ukraine and the United States in mid-November, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said on Wednesday, following a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US envoy Steve Witkoff in St Petersburg.
US President Donald Trump said efforts to end the war were closer to a breakthrough, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed Washington’s push to restart negotiations. The proposed talks are expected to focus on post-war security arrangements.
However, Ushakov said proposals discussed during Witkoff’s meeting with Zelenskyy and European leaders in Oslo contained little of substance.
Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner joined the three-hour meeting with Putin remotely.
During the talks, Witkoff praised Putin for releasing Stephen Hubbard, a retired American teacher imprisoned in Russia on accusations of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine.
Hubbard had denied the charges. Trump said delaying sanctions against Russia helped secure his release.
Putin also expressed willingness to consider restoring economic ties with Washington. Officials discussed a possible summit involving Trump, Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping in China next month.
Meanwhile, Russian strikes killed several people in Ukraine, including victims in Kyiv and the Kharkiv region, according to Ukrainian officials.
Moscow also reported deaths from a Ukrainian drone strike in the occupied Luhansk region.
