St Petersburg: Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed in principle to restart peace negotiations with Ukraine and the US next month, the Kremlin said, reopening a diplomatic channel without announcing a breakthrough on the terms for ending the war.
The announcement followed a nearly three hour meeting with US envoy Steve Witkoff in St Petersburg on Wednesday. Kremlin officials said technical level negotiations could take place in Abu Dhabi on or after November 10, focusing on arrangements to guarantee the security of both Russia and Ukraine after the conflict.
The proposed meeting would bring negotiators from the three countries together. It would not constitute a confirmed summit between Putin, US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Zelenskyy has also supported renewed negotiations. He reiterated that Ukraine could accept a ceasefire along the existing frontline if accompanied by meaningful security guarantees from its allies. That position would freeze fighting without resolving the competing claims over occupied territory.
Witkoff’s visit, his ninth meeting with Putin, followed discussions in Oslo with Zelenskyy, Nordic leaders and European and NATO representatives.
The American envoy brought documents containing proposals for a possible settlement, while Trump’s son in law Jared Kushner contributed remotely. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, however, said the Ukrainian proposals presented to Moscow remained unsatisfactory.
The disagreement highlights the distance between restarting negotiations and reaching a settlement. Putin continues to demand full Russian control of Ukraine’s Donetsk region, Ukraine’s exclusion from NATO and a comprehensive peace agreement rather than a temporary ceasefire.
For Kyiv, the central question is whether any pause in fighting would come with protection against another attack. For Moscow, the proposed discussions also concern the wider security arrangements it wants established after the war.
The last US mediated negotiations took place in February, before the United States and Israel launched their war against Iran.
Putin used Wednesday’s meeting to offer assistance on that conflict, saying an agreement over Iran’s nuclear programme remained possible and necessary. He also offered substantial fertiliser supplies for American farmers.
The Kremlin said a possible meeting in China next month involving Putin, Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping was discussed. No confirmed date or agreed programme was announced.
Meanwhile, uncertainty over American military support continues to complicate Washington’s relationship with Kyiv. Zelenskyy said the Oslo discussions had helped resolve concerns over intelligence sharing and satellite access.
Separately, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said decisions about Ukraine’s access to Starlink rested with SpaceX and Elon Musk rather than the White House. His remarks leave an important distinction between government intelligence support and access to a privately operated communications network.
Agreement to return to negotiations therefore represents an opening for diplomacy, while the questions that undermined earlier efforts remain unsettled.
