Russia is “ready in principle” to resume talks with the United States and Ukraine aimed at ending the war, Vladimir Putin’s top aide has said. Yuriy Ushakov made the remarks after Putin met US special envoy Steve Witkoff in St Petersburg, a meeting that lasted about three hours.
Ushakov said a new round of trilateral talks could take place next month, possibly around 10 November. Kyiv has been urging Moscow to restart those discussions immediately, after they were suspended in February.
Witkoff’s meetings before his Moscow visit
Before travelling to Moscow, Witkoff met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the leaders of Norway and Finland on Monday. Ushakov said their ideas were not very “useful”.
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Stalled talks and the security question
Officials from Russia, Ukraine and the US have held several rounds of talks since the war began in February 2022, when Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin has blamed last month’s “massive” Ukrainian strikes on Russia for disrupting the process.
Speaking to reporters after the St Petersburg talks, Ushakov stressed that discussions must focus on “building a security system for Russia and Ukraine after the end of the conflict.”
