Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed in principle to resume trilateral negotiations with the United States and Ukraine after November 10, Kremlin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said Wednesday, following a meeting with US envoy Steve Witkoff in St Petersburg.
The talks would focus on postwar security arrangements, Ushakov said. Representatives of the three countries held three rounds of negotiations in Abu Dhabi and Geneva earlier this year but made little progress beyond prisoner exchanges.
The three-hour meeting came a day after Witkoff met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders in Oslo. Ushakov said the proposals discussed there offered little of real value, though he later described them as a step in the right direction.
Zelenskyy said freezing the conflict was the minimum requirement for ending the war, while US President Donald Trump urged Kyiv to reach a deal with Moscow.
Witkoff said peace efforts had gained some momentum. He and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also discussed postwar economic cooperation, European security and a possible technical-level trilateral meeting, a US official said.
Putin expressed willingness to explore renewed US-Russia economic ties and discuss the US-led conflict with Iran. Russia and the US also discussed major joint economic projects, some reportedly nearing implementation.
Meanwhile, Russian attacks killed five people and wounded at least 23 in Ukraine overnight, Ukrainian officials said. Three died in Kyiv and two near Kharkiv, while energy facilities and residential buildings were hit. Russia said it intercepted 373 Ukrainian drones overnight.