Putin agrees to new three-way talks with Kyiv and Washington
After three hours with US envoy Witkoff, the Kremlin commits to talks after November 10, focused on post-war security. Zelenskyy says only a leaders’ summit can break the deadlock.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed in principle to resume three-way talks with the United States and Ukraine, the Kremlin said. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said after a roughly three-hour meeting between Putin and US special envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg that the talks could begin after November 10, AP reported. They are to focus on “building a security system for Russia and Ukraine after the conflict ends.” Ushakov and envoy Kirill Dmitriev also attended the meeting at Konstantin Palace, while Jared Kushner joined by video link.
They would be the first three-way talks since February; earlier rounds in Abu Dhabi and Geneva produced little beyond prisoner exchanges. According to Ushakov, the proposals Witkoff had discussed the day before in Oslo with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European officials “contained little of real value”; he later called them a step in the right direction. Zelenskyy said Kyiv supports a meeting at the level of negotiating teams, but that only a summit of leaders can break the impasse. He told Fox News that a freeze of the war was the minimum required of Russia.
US President Donald Trump said in the Oval Office: “We want Zelensky to make a deal.” According to the reports, Putin said he was open to restoring economic ties with the US and was prepared to discuss the Iran conflict; Witkoff thanked him for pledged diesel deliveries. The attacks continued during the talks: according to ABC News (Australia), Kyiv was hit by ballistic missiles on Wednesday evening, injuring six people.