Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to resume U.S.-mediated peace talks with Ukraine as soon as next month following a meeting Wednesday with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg, according to the Kremlin.
The proposed trilateral talks could begin on or after November 10 in Abu Dhabi and would focus on security arrangements for Russia and Ukraine after the war ends.
The nearly three-hour meeting marked Witkoff’s ninth in-person meeting with Putin. It followed talks in Oslo a day earlier between Witkoff, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the leaders of Finland and Norway, and European and NATO representatives.
A U.S. official said Ukraine brought new proposals covering security guarantees, a postwar economic plan and broader European security arrangements. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said the proposals did not fully satisfy Moscow.
During the meeting, Putin offered to help Trump address Iran’s nuclear program and said Russia could supply large quantities of fertilizer to U.S. farmers. The two sides also discussed a possible meeting in China next month involving Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Putin has maintained Russia’s demands for control of Ukraine’s Donetsk region and for Ukraine to remain outside NATO, while Trump has increased pressure on Kyiv to reach a peace agreement.
