Kremlin agrees to resume three-way talks on Ukraine war with Kyiv and Washington

The Kremlin has agreed to resume three-way negotiations with Washington and Kyiv aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, potentially setting up the first such talks since February. Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed in principle to restart the talks after Nov. 10, Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, told reporters following a meeting in St. Petersburg between the Russian leader and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff. The talks will focus on building a security system for Russia and Ukraine after the conflict ends.

The discussion in St. Petersburg lasted about three hours, the Kremlin said, and came a day after Witkoff met with Zelenskyy and some European leaders in Norway’s capital, Oslo. The proposals that emerged from the Oslo meeting contained little of real value in the context of resolving the Ukrainian crisis, Ushakov said. However, he later told Russian state TV that while Moscow isn’t fully satisfied with the Oslo proposals, they are a step in the right direction.

Witkoff’s meetings suggested leaders are keen to bring new momentum to U.S.-led peace efforts, more than 4½ years after the war began. Efforts by the Trump administration since early last year to end the war have made no significant progress. Witkoff and Kushner also discussed a postwar economic plan, European security and plans for the upcoming meeting, the official said.

Norway’s prime minister sees a possible ‘new phase’ in talks. After his trip to Russia, Witkoff returned for more consultations in Oslo, where he met with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre at the airport before flying back to the U.S. The meeting lasted just over an hour, Norwegian broadcaster NRK reported. ‘I think we may have entered a phase now where the Russians are also looking for opportunities for diplomacy,’ Støre told the broadcaster. He said the new talks were likely to happen in mid-November.