Diplomatic Push: Moscow Backs Three-Way Talks

After months of stalled efforts, the Kremlin announced Wednesday that Russia has agreed to resume trilateral negotiations with Washington and Kyiv next month, a development that could mark the first three-way talks since February. The proposal came following a high-level meeting in St. Petersburg, where Russian officials discussed the parameters of ending the conflict.

According to Yuri Ushakov, President Vladimir Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, the Russian leader has agreed 'in principle' to restart these discussions after November 10. The stated objective for the gathering would be 'building a security system for Russia and Ukraine after the conflict ends,' Ushakov told reporters.

The agreement stems from a roughly three-hour meeting at the Constantine Palace in St. Petersburg between Putin and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff. The gathering also included Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev, while Jared Kushner, the U.S. president's son-in-law, participated via video link. During this session, Witkoff and Kushner proposed the technical-level meeting between the three nations and discussed a postwar economic plan as well as European security arrangements.

This diplomatic maneuvering follows a series of recent interactions between high-ranking officials. On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump met with reporters in the Oval Office to discuss the conflict, stating, 'We want Zelenskyy to make a deal.' Trump added, 'We’ve given a lot to Ukraine. We’ve gotten absolutely nothing back except grief, death, tremendous monetary loss.' Trump also warned that failing to reach an agreement would be 'a very bad thing.'

Prior to the St. Petersburg meeting, Witkoff had met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and several European leaders in Oslo, Norway. However, Ushakov noted that the proposals emerging from the Oslo session 'contained little of real value in the context of resolving the Ukrainian crisis,' though he later told Russian state TV that Moscow is not 'fully satisfied' with the proposals but views them as a step in the right direction. Following these events, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre met with Witkoff at the Oslo airport for over an hour.

Støre told broadcaster NRK, 'I think we may have entered a phase now where the Russians are also looking for opportunities for diplomacy,' and indicated that the new talks were likely to happen in mid-November. Regarding the territorial dispute, Støre remarked, 'I don’t think Ukraine will ever formally accept it and say that this is the new border. But whether they can live with it is another matter.'

Zelenskyy has expressed support for the push from Washington to restart talks swiftly. In an audio message issued late Wednesday, he stated, 'The agenda is clear: to end the war, bring peace closer, and, as I understand it, prepare everything for a meeting at the leaders’ level.' He noted that Russia 'has said many times already that it is ready to meet in one format or another. Then something changed. Things were canceled. We’ll see what happens this time.' Shortly after issuing this message, a missile alert sounded over Kyiv.

Despite the diplomatic activity, violence continues on the ground. Overnight attacks in Kyiv resulted in three deaths and twelve injuries, with ten residential buildings damaged. Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi reported that energy facilities were targeted in Kyiv and three other cities early Wednesday. Outside Kharkiv, drone explosions in a residential area killed two people and wounded eleven others. The Russian Defense Ministry stated its forces struck a warehouse and an electrical substation, while also claiming to have intercepted 373 Ukrainian drones across multiple regions.

The timeline of negotiations includes three rounds of talks held earlier this year, with meetings in Abu Dhabi in January and February, followed by discussions in Geneva in February. However, little progress was reported beyond exchanges of prisoners of war as both sides maintained their longstanding basic demands. In a separate development, Russia released a retired American teacher imprisoned on charges of fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine, with Witkoff saying it appeared to be a gesture of goodwill after Trump asked Putin to free Stephen Hubbard.

Looking ahead, Putin expressed readiness to consider restoring economic ties with the United States and discussed large-scale joint economic projects with Witkoff. Ushakov stated that some of these projects are nearing the implementation stage. Additionally, Putin met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in St. Petersburg and discussed a potential meeting next month between the Russian, Chinese, and U.S. leaders at an economic summit in China.