Russia, Ukraine and US Agree to Trilateral Peace Talks in Early-to-Mid November After Witkoff Meets Putin

Russia and Ukraine have both accepted a US proposal for trilateral peace negotiations at the technical level, with a meeting now expected to take place in early to mid-November, potentially in Abu Dhabi. The agreement emerged after US envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner conducted shuttle diplomacy, first meeting Ukrainian and European leaders in Oslo and then traveling to St. Petersburg to meet directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Witkoff's statement confirmed that the St. Petersburg talks with Putin were constructive and built on progress made with President Zelenskiy in Oslo. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he supports the US proposal for trilateral talks at the level of negotiators as soon as possible and expressed hope the meeting would occur no later than early November. A US official confirmed Russia had accepted the proposal, and Kremlin foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov indicated a date around the middle of November had been agreed upon, with Abu Dhabi cited as a possible venue.

On the sidelines of the Witkoff-Putin meeting, Russia released American citizen Stephen Hubbard, a retired US school teacher who had been detained by Moscow. Witkoff publicly thanked Putin for the gesture. Putin also confirmed that a Russian-US fuel supply deal struck with President Trump is moving forward, with the first tanker carrying 40,000 tonnes of Russian diesel set to depart for the United States within days. Putin noted that the deal's announcement alone caused global diesel prices to fall 5 to 6 percent, and he signaled Russia could also supply fertilizers to the American market in large quantities.

Separately, China has begun preparations for a potential three-way summit between the leaders of Russia, the US, and China, also targeted for November, according to the Kremlin's top foreign policy aide. The convergence of diplomatic activity across multiple tracks marks a significant acceleration in efforts to end the war in Ukraine, though Russian drone strikes killed at least two people in Kyiv on the same day the talks were announced.