Russia willing to resume trilateral peace talks in November, Kremlin says after Witkoff meeting
By Lauren Kent, Arina Porkhovnik, Anna Chernova, CNN
(CNN) — Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Kremlin would be ready to resume trilateral Russia-US-Ukraine peace talks after mid-November, at the request of US special envoy Steve Witkoff who met with Putin for around three hours Wednesday.
The meeting in St. Petersburg came off the back of Witkoff’s “productive” Tuesday summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Norway, as the United States seeks to advance proposals to end to the war.
Putin said he would be ready to resume trilateral talks after November 10, according to a post-meeting briefing by his aide Yury Ushakov. The aide said the Kremlin would like to discuss the establishment of a “security framework” for both Russia and Ukraine following the end of the conflict, without offering further details on what Russia would demand as part of that framework.
The next trilateral round could take place in Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Ushakov said in response to a question on Russian state news channel Russia 24.
Zelensky said on Wednesday that he would like the meeting to happen “no later than the beginning of November.”
“Russia said many times it is ready for a meeting and then things changed and got cancelled,” Zelensky added. “Let’s see what happens this time.”
A readout from a US official confirmed that the meeting took place, adding that it was aimed at advancing US President Donald Trump’s efforts to end Russia’s war with Ukraine.
Witkoff described the meetings both with Putin and Zelensky as “constructive” in a post on X after the meeting Wednesday, and said the discussions would continue with the trilateral talks.
“While there is still important work left to do, President Trump remains committed to seeing this war end and achieving a comprehensive, durable peace,” he wrote.
US envoys Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner proposed a trilateral meeting which was “accepted by the Ukrainians in Oslo yesterday and by the Russians in St. Petersburg today,” the readout said.
Despite the positive comments on potential future negotiations, there are no indications so far that Russia has budged on any of its maximalist positions.
Russia’s previous demands amount to near-total victory – calling for Ukraine to give up the entire eastern Ukrainian Donbas region, which is now mostly under Russian occupation. Moscow has also called for Ukraine to dramatically reduce the size of its military and pledge to never join NATO.
During the latest talks, Putin expressed interest in the topic of restoring economic cooperation with the United States and the possibility of a meeting with China to discuss Ukraine. That follows recent moves by the Trump administration to waive sanctions on Russia and strike a deal on diesel exports.
Speaking to media after the meeting, Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev said there was “no question” that US-Russian economic cooperation would continue, and added that a recently-announced diesel deal between the two countries would go ahead despite European criticism.
A key outcome of the meeting was Witkoff announcing that Russia has released 74-year-old American prisoner Stephen Hubbard, who has been detained in the country for more than four years. A video obtained by CNN after the meeting shows Hubbard speaking with Witkoff at the airport in St. Petersburg.
In video of the beginning of the three-hour meeting, Witkoff said, “I think there’s some degree of momentum, and I hope that this today can be another step forward in the peace process.”
Putin, Witkoff and translators sat around a large round table as they also discussed a wide range of issues including Russia’s willingness to help resolve the war in Iran, potential Russian fertilizer exports to the US and the release of Hubbard. The meeting continued behind closed doors, and Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law who has also been involved in the peace negotiations, joined remotely given he has the flu.
The US and Ukraine made “meaningful progress” in the Norway talks on Tuesday, a US official previously told CNN. Ukraine “brought forward new ideas and proposals, which were discussed in detail,” and the two sides are now in “strong alignment” on what the next steps will be, the official said.
“Discussions covered key elements of a comprehensive peace framework, including long-term security guarantees for Ukraine, a post-war economic and prosperity plan, and a broader European security architecture designed to create lasting stability,” the US official said.
But Kremlin aide Ushakov poured cold water on those discussions on Wednesday, saying that while Witkoff had highlighted to Putin “certain new approaches and developments in the positions taken by the Europeans and Kyiv… in truth, these contained little of actual value for resolving the Ukrainian crisis.”
Ukraine and its allies have reiterated the key red lines set by Kyiv for any peace negotiations, including the need for future security guarantees – to ensure Russia doesn’t invade again – and a rejection of any demands to give up territory it controls.
“Much depends on whether the American side will hear something new from Russia today – about peace, rather than the continuation of the war,” Zelensky said on Wednesday, following another meeting with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.
Zelensky repeated a long-held position that Ukraine would accept a ceasefire deal that involves a freeze along the current frontline – something that would involve retaining only about 75% of Ukrainian land – and would then ask allies for meaningful security guarantees.
“Right now we have to freeze, and I think this is (the) real way to end this war,” the Ukrainian president told Fox News on Wednesday. “This is (the) minimum of what we need from Russia today. Then of course we’ll go to the president and to Europeans and we’ll ask (for) security guarantees.”
Zelensky also said that Ukraine also wants trilateral negotiations involving Trump, Putin and himself, but the process would be “better with Europeans.”
“I always said that we are open to negotiate in any format, any topics, but don’t speak about us without us, please,” he said, balking at the prospect of any Russia-China-US negotiations.
The Kremlin has previously shut down the idea of trilateral negotiations, apart from a previous invitation for Zelensky to come to Moscow – something viewed as unviable by the other sides.
Regarding the Norway talks with the Ukrainian side, the US official added: “The teams are working exceptionally well together, with a shared commitment to finding practical solutions to end the war,” striking a positive tone despite the souring public relationship between Zelensky and Trump.
“The goal is to build on the progress made with Ukraine and Europe, discuss the proposals with Russia, and create a pathway toward direct trilateral and broader multilateral negotiations,” the US official said.
Meanwhile in Russia, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday struck a less upbeat tone, saying that Moscow will see what Witkoff brings to the table but will not make “political concessions.” Lavrov said that Moscow does “not expect a miracle” and Washington will remain a rival to Russia “at best,” according to Russian state media TASS.
A European official in Oslo told CNN: “I think plans – or lack of – isn’t as much of a problem as getting Russia to treat any plan seriously.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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CNN’s Ivana Kottasová, Kevin Liptak, Nick Paton Walsh and Kosta Gak contributed to this report.
