Russia ready for 3-way talks on Ukraine war, Kremlin says

Russian leader Vladimir Putin is “in principle” ready for Moscow to resume talks with Washington and Kyiv, the Kremlin said Wednesday. During a meeting in St. Petersburg with U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, Putin said Moscow is ready to restart trilateral negotiations in November, Yuri Ushakov, a senior Putin aide, told reporters. Ushakov added that the “conflict in Ukraine is coming to an end,” and said trilateral talks “may take place in Abu Dhabi.” Witkoff confirmed on X that discussions “will continue with trilateral talks between the United States, Russia, and Ukraine at the technical level.” His visit was the latest in a new round of U.S. attempts to bring Moscow to the negotiating table to end its war against Ukraine. The special envoy also met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Oslo on Tuesday, subsequently announcing a proposal for a three-way leaders’ negotiation. There have been several rounds of talks between the U.S. and Russia since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The most recent discussions stalled in February when the U.S. and Israel launched their war against Iran. Previous negotiations were largely political theater and failed to yield any broader breakthrough on halting hostilities, prisoner-of-war exchanges or a truce regarding strikes on energy infrastructure. Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal reported Moscow proposed a potential high-level summit with China and the U.S. to negotiate a deal on ending the war in Ukraine. On Wednesday, footage emerged of Witkoff praising Putin during their face-to-face talks in St. Petersburg, after the Russians released a U.S. prisoner from captivity.