Russia announces its readiness to resume trilateral peace talks with Ukraine and America in November

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow is ready to resume trilateral peace talks (between Russia, the United States and Ukraine) in November, in response to a request from US special envoy Steve Witkov, who met with Putin on Wednesday for about three hours. The meeting was held in St. Petersburg following "fruitful" talks Witkov held, on Tuesday, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Norway, at a time when the United States is seeking to put forward proposals aimed at ending the war.

According to statements by Yuri Ushakov, Assistant to the Russian President, in a press briefing following the meeting, Putin confirmed his readiness to resume the tripartite talks after November 10. Ushakov indicated that the Kremlin would like to discuss establishing a “security framework” for both Russia and Ukraine after the end of the conflict, without providing additional details about the demands that Russia may put forward as part of this framework.

He also mentioned that the next round of tripartite talks may be held in the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi. For his part, Zelensky said on Wednesday that he would like the meeting to be held “no later than the beginning of November.”

He added: “Russia has repeatedly stated that it is ready to hold a meeting, but things were changing and it was canceled.” In a post on the “X” platform following the meeting, on Wednesday, Witkov described the meetings he held with both Putin and Zelensky as “constructive,” adding that the discussions will continue through tripartite talks.

“Although there is still important work to do, President Trump remains committed to ending this war and achieving a comprehensive and sustainable peace,” he wrote. Despite positive comments about the prospect of future negotiations, there are so far no signs that Russia has backed away from any of its hard-line stances.

Russia's previous demands amount to almost complete victory. Ukraine is demanding the abandonment of the entire Donbass region in the east of the country, most of which is now under Russian occupation. Moscow also demanded that Ukraine significantly reduce the size of its army and pledge not to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) at all.

During the recent talks, Putin expressed interest in the issue of restoring economic cooperation with the United States, and the possibility of holding a meeting with China to discuss the Ukrainian issue. This comes in the wake of recent steps taken by the Trump administration, including lifting sanctions on Russia and concluding an agreement on diesel exports.

One of the main outcomes of the meeting was Witkoff's announcement that Russia had released 74-year-old American prisoner Stephen Hubbard, who had been detained in the country for more than four years. Putin, Wytkov and the translators sat around a large round table, where a wide range of issues were discussed, including Russia's willingness to help settle the war, the possibility of exporting Russian fertilizer to the United States, as well as the issue of Hubbard's release.

The meeting took place behind closed doors, and Jared Kushner - Trump's son-in-law who also participated in the peace negotiations - participated remotely, due to his infection with the flu. An American official had previously told the Ofoq News network that the United States and Ukraine had made “tangible progress” during the talks that took place in Norway on Tuesday.

The official explained that Ukraine “put forward new ideas and proposals that were discussed in detail,” noting that there was a “strong consensus” between the two parties regarding the next steps. The American official added, "The discussions addressed core elements of a comprehensive peace framework, which included long-term security guarantees for Ukraine, an economic plan to achieve prosperity in the post-war period, and a broader vision for the European security architecture aimed at establishing lasting stability."

But Ushakov, the Kremlin aide, downplayed those discussions on Wednesday; He pointed out that although Witkov presented to Putin “some new approaches and developments in the positions of the Europeans and Kiev... in reality, they did not entail anything of significant actual value for resolving the Ukrainian crisis.”

Ukraine and its allies reiterated the "red lines" set by Kiev for any peace negotiations, including the necessity of obtaining future security guarantees, to prevent Russia from launching a new invasion, and rejecting any demands to cede territory controlled by Ukraine. Zelensky said, on Wednesday, after another meeting with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Storhe: "A lot depends on whether the American side will hear something new today from Russia; something related to peace, rather than the continuation of the war."

Zelensky repeated a position that Ukraine has long adopted, which is to accept a ceasefire agreement that includes freezing the situation at the current front line - which means keeping only about 75% of Ukrainian territory - after which Kiev asks its allies for actual security guarantees. The Ukrainian president told Fox News on Wednesday: “We now have to freeze the situation, and I think this is the realistic way to end this war.”

This is the minimum of what we need from Russia today. After that, of course, we will go to the (American) president and the Europeans to ask for security guarantees.”

He also indicated that Ukraine wants to hold tripartite negotiations that include Trump, Putin, and himself personally, considering that this process would be “better with the participation of the Europeans.” He added: "I have always said that we are open to negotiations in any format and on any topics, but please, do not talk about us in our absence," expressing his rejection of the idea of ​​holding any negotiations limited to Russia, China, and the United States.

The Kremlin had previously ruled out the idea of ​​holding tripartite negotiations, with the exception of a previous invitation to Zelensky to visit Moscow. This is a proposal that the other parties considered unimplementable. For his part, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, on Tuesday, took a less optimistic tone. He stated that Moscow would wait to see what Witkov would offer, stressing at the same time that it would not make "political concessions."

According to the official Russian news agency TASS, Lavrov said that Moscow “does not expect a miracle,” noting that Washington will remain, at best, a competitor to Russia. In Oslo, a European official told Ofoq News Network: “I think the problem does not lie in the presence of plans - or their absence - as much as it lies in pushing Russia to deal seriously with any proposed plan.”